Zoids: A New Beginning
by moguera
Summary: After earning their rank in Class S, the Bltiz Team embarks on a new adventure, battling against opponents like none they've ever faced before. Updated through Chapter 12
1. Chapter 1

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own Zoids, nor know any of its creators.**

Author's Note: Here it is, my story straight from Anime Admirers.  This was the 1st Fanfiction I wrote a published, now placed for all the zoid fans of fanfiction.net to read and enjoy.  Please bear in mind that this story is already fully complete and published on Anime Admirers, so even if you point out some gargantuan problems with the thing, I won't be doing anything about it.  (Please review anyway, I can always use your comments to greatly improve my writing in the future).

Following the Blitz Team's victory at the Royal Cup, the Blitz Team moved up to the prestigious Class S. The Royal Cup also marked the debut of the Zoid Battle Commission's new Judge Super Satellite. More importantly it also marked the dissolution of the Backdraft Group. The leadership was quickly arrested and many of the teams requested and obtained official registration.

At the Blitz Team's hangar the members of the Blitz Team were going through a fairly normal routine. Leena was chasing Bit for stealing her donut. Dr. Toros was in the lounge putting together his newest zoid model. Brad was in the gym working out. Jamie was in the hanger polishing his beloved Raynos.

A video call came in and when Dr. Toros answered it, it turned out to be the chairman of the Zoid Battle Commission. "Chairman, to what do I owe this honor?" he asked.

The Chairman replied "It is customary for the newly initiated Class S team to meet the other teems of Class S. A dinner has been arranged on the Ultrasaurus in Romeo City, I believe that is the one your team is closest to."

"Thank you Chairman, I can assure you that me and my team will be there."

"Then I shall expect to see you tomorrow night. Thank you for your cooperation."

Ten minutes later the team was assembled in the lounge while Dr. Toros explained the situation.

"I don't see why not," said Brad, "It'll be a great chance to size up our competition."

"And they're providing dinner, free of charge," added Leena.

"Great, we can't afford to have any more debts," said Bit.

"Actually, with the prize money from winning the Royal Cup, not only did we have enough to repair our zoids, but we were also able to pay our debts, with a ton left over, we're free and clear."

"Great Jamie!" exclaimed the Doc, "You know, there's this component I've been looking at-"

"Oh no you don't!" exclaimed the rest of the team with one voice realizing what Toros had been getting at (over 90% of the debts the team had owed had been from Dr. Toros buying expensive parts that they couldn't afford or use).

"But we have so much extra," Toros complained.

"We should be putting our extras in a savings account for repairs, upgrades, and tune ups for our zoids not spending it on useless components dad," said Leena.

"Anyway, we need to load up the hover cargo and head out," said Brad, "It'll take all night and a good part of tomorrow to reach Romeo City."

"Should we bring the zoids, if that's what you mean by loading up the hover cargo?" Asked Bit.

"The Zoid Battle Commission reserves the right to contact us at any time for our next battle," said Jamie, "It's a good idea to bring the zoids just in case we need to head off to our next battle right away."

"If all the teams from Class S are going to be there, then we shouldn't have to worry about our next battle until the dinner is over," said Leena.

"True, but we should be ready, just in case," said Brad.

"Well then, let's not waste time gabbing and get going," the Doctor chimed in.

The next evening the dinner was held on the Ultrasaurus as planned. Bit looked up in awe, he had never seen an Ultrasaurus this close before. As a matter of fact, the last time he remembered seeing one even near that close was when one of Harry Champ's robots hijacked a whale king and tried to take one on.

The Ultrasaurus's size was the least of its marvels. It served multiple purposes. It was very heavily armed, bristling with cannons and missile launchers in every direction. The Zoid Battle Commision used Ultrasauruses as command posts in various cities allowing the Commission to react to a number of crises.

It was even more impressive on the inside of the Ultrasaurus. The hangar that normally housed airborne zoids had been replaced with an enormous dinning room. The dinner, in truth was more like a reception. There were snacks, but the real dinner had not yet been served. There was one large long table in the center of the room with a raised area at the head of the table.

The Chairman greeted them at the entrance. "Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Take the time to meet your fellow teams of Class S."

The members of the Blitz Team spread out. Leena spied a group of warriors she knew as the Shell Team, who piloted a variety of bombardment zoids. Brad went and talked to a group of warriors at the other end of the room. Jamie saw a team he knew to be the Sun Team whom specialized in air battles and went over them.

Bit wandered around for a while, going here and there not knowing who to talk to. Despite the fact he was an experienced warrior and had just won the Royal Cup, he was not yet such a veteran that he recognized members of a given team on sight.

Then Bit saw a lone man over in the far corner of the room. His black hair was cut short. He wore a simple white shirt with a black jacket and a dark blue tie. His ice blue eyes swept across the room, missing absolutely nothing. His face was impassive, giving off no emotion. He quietly sipped from a glass of ice water.

Bit felt that this person was probably an experienced and powerful warrior. And decided that he should talk to the man. Bit walked across the room. He did not doubt that the man had noticed his approach, but the eyes continued to move.

Bit came up to him and extended a hand "Hello," he said.

The man's eyes focused on Bit as the man took the offered hand "Hello Bit Cloud." He smiled the smile was polite and genuine. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Bit was taken aback slightly, "How did you know my name?" he asked.

"Names and faces circulate quickly around Class S."

"May I ask your name?"

"Certainly, my name is Derrik Fay. I am the Raptor Team."

"From that last remark I take it that you are a solo pilot."

"That's right, I found that I was very successful at solo battling."

"I'm impressed, you must be a skilled warrior to make it into Class S alone."

"It was easier than you would think, though I entered Class S the hard way."

"The hard way?"

"There are two ways to qualify for Class S. The best-known way and certainly the quickest is to win the Royal Cup. The second way is a bit harder. I had to win 100 consecutive battles in Class A without losing a single zoid. It's all the easier when you have only one zoid to worry about."

"What zoid do you pilot?" asked Bit, intrigued, "It must have been pretty powerful for you to have made it into Class S."

Derrik thought for a moment, wondering if he should tell Bit then decided. "I pilot a Rev Raptor," he said simply.

"A Rev Raptor, now I'm really impressed. I've lost count of all the teams we've beaten that consisted of at least six Rev Raptors, those were pretty easy battles. To pilot a Rev Raptor alone and successfully is an impressive feat."

"It is merely a matter of knowing how to bring out its full potential. I can make the maximum use of my zoid's abilities."

Bit was about to ask further when dinner arrived. The Chairman signaled for the Blitz Team's members to sit at the head of the table with him. Before dinner started he stood up and made a speech.

"I'm glad that all of you have had the chance to meet the Blitz Team. As Chairman of the Zoid Battle Commission, I know to expect a lot from a team that has made it into Class S. I especially expect a lot from this particular team. The Blitz Team, as we all know, played a key role in finally defeating the Backdraft Group, for which we are very grateful." A loud round of applause started. The Chairman waited for the applause to die down then continued, "You will find that Class S and the other even higher classes to be unlike any other class you have been in. Only a few select teams make it into Class S and beyond. As a result, you will get to know your opponents as well as you already know your own teammates. With that said it's time to start dinner."

Dinner went well. Bit asked the others who they had met.

"I met the Shell Team. Those guys are great. Their zoids have the best artillery," Leena was ecstatic about anyone who liked heavy weaponry as much as she did.

"The team I met was a pretty skilled bunch," said Brad, "Two Saber Tigers and a Lightning Saix," he listed the team's zoids.

"The Sun Team is one of the best air combat teams around," said Jamie, "They even have a Raynos like mine."

"Who'd you meet Bit?" asked Leena.

"Derrik Fay from the Raptor Team."

"Derrik Fay, no way!" Jamie's voice was shrill with surprise and amazement.

"You know about him?" asked Bit.

"In Class S, Derrik Fay is ranked as the number one warrior," said Brad.

Dinner ended and the Blitz Team went back to the hover cargo. There, Dr. Toros found a message waiting for them on the video unit. "Well what do you know, they've scheduled our next battle."

"Who are we fighting?" asked Bit.

"Our first opponent in Class S is the Shell Team."

"You mean the team Leena was talking to at dinner?" asked Jamie.

"The very same, the battle is the day after tomorrow and will take place a little way outside of town."

"Well, we might as well stay put then," said Brad.

After all was said and done the members of the Blitz team went to bed.

Two days later, the hover cargo arrived at the battlefield during midmorning. The Shell Team was already there. "I expect this will be an interesting battle," said the Shell Team Leader.

The Shadowfox, Gunsniper, and Liger 0 were mobilized. The Shell Team's zoids were all types that specialized in heavy bombardment. The first one Bit noticed was a Dibison. The second was a Gojulas and the third was an Iron Kong that was packing a lot of heavy artillery.

Something resembling a meteorite smashed into the ground east of the two teams, that, of course was the judge capsule. The capsule opened and the judge began the announcement of the battle. "The area with in a thirty mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield, only competitors and authorized personnel have access. Danger! All others must leave the area at once. Area scanned battlefield set up. The Blitz Team versus the Shell Team, battle mode 0993. Ready…Fight!"

The Liger 0 and the Shadowfox rushed forward while the Gunsniper stood back and opened its missile pods. The key of Jamie's strategy was to have Leena stay back and provide covering fire while Brad and Bit went in to take out the enemy under the range of their heavy guns.

The plan might've worked except the Shell Team had expected that kind of strategy. The Dibison fired the Meglomax attack. All seventeen of its main cannons fired, creating a powerful energy beam that split into several smaller beams that blanketed a large area in heavy fire. The pilot targeted the attack so that the whole shelled out a line between them and the charging Liger 0 and Shadowfox. Both zoids ground to a sudden halt in order to avoid being caught in the resulting explosions.

At that point the Gojulas swung its cannons and laid out a pattern of fire that was meant to box in the Liger 0 and the Shadowfox and prevent their escape. Cut off from moving both Bit and Brad were sitting ducks for the Iron Kong to fill the box created by the Gojulas with heavy weapons fire.

"Man, no wonder these guys made it into Class S. They thought of everything," said Brad, frustrated by their predicament.

"Not everything," said Leena, "Weasel Unit, total assault!"

The Gunsniper cut loose with all of its weapons simultaneously. The barrage slammed into the Gojulas, causing the enormous zoid to rock back and forth before toppling over.

Suddenly free from the box created by the Gojulas's guns, the Shadowfox and Liger 0 rushed forward, but were met by a second Meglomax from the Dibison. The Liger 0 ground to a halt a hair's breadth from the line of fire, but Brad reacted too slowly and the Shadowfox plowed straight into the barrage. Bit lost sight of the Shadowfox in the smoke from the shelling but when the smoke cleared it was safe to say that Brad would not be helping out any more.

"The Liger's not fast enough to get past the weapons fire of that Dibison," Bit said, I'm gonna head back and switch to Jager.

"Great idea Bit," replied Dr. Toros.

The Liger 0 ran back to the hover cargo and into the maintenance gate at the rear. There, the CAS system began the task of removing the white 0 armor and replacing it with the blue Jager armor.

Meanwhile, Leena was up to her neck in trouble. With Bit gone for the time being and Brad out of the battle she was the only target left for the two remaining zoids of the Shell Team.

"Uh oh," said Leena as she watched the movements of the opposing team. The Iron Kong went right and the Dibison went left, coming around to either side of the Gunsniper in a pincer movement.

"That will reduce the effectiveness of the Gunsniper's Weasel Unit," said Jamie, "by preventing her from targeting them both at once. When they get into position, they'll also be able to catch her in a crossfire."

"Oh boy, this is dicey," groaned the Doc.

"Hold on Liger 0 Jager CAS complete," said Jamie.

The two remaining members of the Shell Team did not miss that the catapult of the hover cargo was opening. "Retreat, back to formation," said the team leader from the Dibison. Both zoids cut off their attack and ran back and formed up side by side.

As they reached their formation, the Liger 0 Jager launched from the catapult. The Jager hit the ground running. The Dibison charged its guns and fired its Meglomax.

"Activating Jager Ion Boosters," said Bit. The two large and powerful ion boosters on the Jager's back extended and fired, sending the Liger 0 rocketing forward and unbelievable speeds. It sped under and rushed out the other end of the Dibison's barrage with room to spare.

"Strike Laser Claw!" shouted Bit in exhilaration as the Liger's claws began to glow. The Liger leapt into the air and slashed downwards, the laser charged claws slashing along the Dibison's right flank, neatly taking off two of its legs.

"What the?" exclaimed the pilot of the Iron Kong. The Iron Kong had only begun to turn around when the Jager hit from behind, hard. The Iron Kong went down in a heap.

"The battle is over, the battle is over." Announced the judge, "The winner is…the Blitz Team." The judge capsule then closed and its rockets fired, sending it back to the judge satellite waiting in orbit.

Bit opened the cockpit and jumped down from the Liger 0. On the ground, he found that the members of the Shell Team had already disembarked from their downed zoids. The team leader greeted him with a handshake.

"Man," said the team leader, "That was great, I haven't had a battle like that in a while, that was fantastic. What a zoid your Liger is."

"Thanks," replied Bit, "You're pretty good yourselves, that was sheer brilliance, stopping us up and boxing us in like that."

"You have a lot of potential Bit Cloud, so do the other members of your team, I think that you'll do very well in Class S." Said the Shell Team leader. "I hope we'll get to fight again sometime."

"Me too," said Bit, "Me too."

Later, as they watched the Shell Team leave Bit looked over to Brad, "I think that Class S will prove very interesting."

"Yeah, it's gonna be a challenge for sure," said Brad.

"Wow!" said Leena, "I wonder if all our battles are going to be this exciting?"

For some reason, the face of Derrik Fay flashed through Bit's mind as he considered Leena's question. "I'm willing to bet some of them will be even more exciting." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own zoids (I wish I did, but I don't)

Following the conclusion of their successful battle with the Shell Team, the Blitz Team returned to their hangar and began the repairs on their zoids. The repairs for the Shadowfox were expensive in part because of the damage done by the Shell Team's Dibison, and in part it was a little difficult to find parts for such a unique zoid. However, the prize money they received was an astronomical sum. And it was easy to get the Shadowfox repaired.

"Man!" said Brad, "We're gonna be rich by the time were done here."

"And don't forget," added Jamie, "There are seven classes above us each with even more prize money."

They were relaxing in the lounge, Leena was in the shower and Bit was in the computer room. "What's he doing in there?" asked Brad.

"He said he was looking up information on Derrik Fay," was the reply.

"What's with the sudden interest in Derrik Fay?"

"I think there was something about him that intrigued Bit."

At that moment, Bit walked in. Right behind him came Dr. Toros. "Team, we have our next battle."

"Who're we up against?" asked Leena, just coming out of the shower.

Jamie read the paperwork, "They're called the Burning Sands Team."

Brad had to ask, "What have they got for us."

Dr. Toros said, "They have two Heldigunners, a Stealth Viper, and a Guysack."

"Sounds like I'll have to go in to," sighed Jamie, figuring that they would have to use four warriors to go up against the other team.

"You'd have to except that the battle mode isn't 0982, it's 0993."

"Why the sudden change in battle modes?" asked Bit.

"In Class S it isn't the number of zoids on a team that is important, its how well the warriors fight. Battle mode 0993 lets a team announce the zoids it will be using before the battle. They cannot be replaced or switched during the battle."

Jamie glanced at the paperwork again, "The paperwork says that battle is going to be at coordinates 536." He called up a map on the video screen. "That's mostly desert, they'll have an advantage."

"There's a reason they're called the Burning Sands Team," sighed Brad.

"Well then," said Bit yawning, "Let's get some shut eye before the battle."

"Well said," replied Dr. Toros, stifling a yawn of his own.

The next day, the hover cargo arrived at the battlefield. The Blitz Team mobilized the Shadowfox, Gunsniper, and Liger 0. On the other end of the battlefield were the zoids of the Burning Sands Team.

A large explosion and a column of smoke announced the arrival of the judge who promptly began the formalities of the battle.

"So you're the new team on the block," said Gene, the leader of the Burning Sands Team, "I heard that you handed the Shell Team a beating. I hope that this is a good battle. Good luck."

"Good luck to you too," said Bit, smilling.

As he finished that remark the judge shouted "Fight!" and the battle began.

"Watch this," said Gene, "Now you see us…now you don't." Smoke spewed out from his Stealth Viper, obscuring the whole team as the Blitz Team charged forward.

"I can't see them," said Bit, "Brad, the Shadowfox has good sensors can you pick 'em up."

"I'm trying but I can't see through the smoke, they must have brought something special."

"Stay out of the smoke cloud then," said Jamie, "If you go in you'll only make it easier for them."

Bit's eyes widened slightly, "Hold on, the smoke's clearing…huh!"

The Burning Sands Team was gone, all that was left was a bare patch of sand. Then, behind Leena, a shot rang out, hitting her Gunsniper in the back. The zoid rocked forward, but managed to stay standing. Leena immediately whirled about looking for her assailant.

A second shot rang out. Only the Liger 0's reflexes saved Bit as he ducked, the shot whistled over the Liger's head. "Where are they?" he cried in frustration.

Brad spotted a hillock of sand heading his way and lurched the Shadowfox to the side. A Heldigunner burst out of the ground, the blades on its tail missing him by what seemed like inches. He spun the Shadowfox around, but the Heldigunner had already vanished again. "They're attacking from underground," he said.

"How are we supposed to fight them when we can't see them?" exclaimed Bit.

Brad said, "Bit, we should head for the rocky area, all the zoids on that team can travel underground, but only in sandy areas. If we go to the rocky area they won't be able to get us from underground."

"Gotcha," said Bit. Bit, Brad, and Leena took off for the rocky area at top speed. Suddenly, the sand in front of them bulged and the Guysak surfaced. Its tail gun fired at the Liger. Bit used the Liger's ion boosters (not as fast as the Jagers, but useful nonetheless) to rush under the Guysak's line of fire. As he did so, he fired the Liger 0's shock cannon. The Guysak was not made to dodge and the shots disabled it neatly.

The Blitz Team rushed past the downed Guysack and made it to the rocky area. Leena turned around and saw the bulges of the two approaching Heldigunners. "Oh no you don't boys. Gunsniper Weasel Unit, Total Assault!" The Gunsniper's barrage penetrated through the sand, sending the Heldigunners flying upwards like boats shot out of the water.

"Nice shot," complemented Brad. He began to turn around and suddenly leaped upwards and backwards. Gunfire raked the spot where the Shadowfox had been standing a bare instant ago. The Stealth Viper had been waiting for them in the rocky area.

"You guys are good," said Gene.

"Thanks," said Brad, "You're pretty good yourselves." White smoke had begun to stream from the Stealth Viper as Gene attempted to gain an advantage.

"Not this time Gene," said Brad as the Shadowfox fired a precise shot that disabled the Stealth Viper's smoke emitter. The smoke it had already discharged dissipated in wisps that the Stealth Viper couldn't hope to hide in. "And now for a disappearing act of my own," Brad added as he activated the Shadowfox's own smoke dischargers.

The Shadowfox was concealed for a moment in the thick black smoke it emitted. When the smoke cleared, the Shadowfox was gone. Gene whistled, impressed. "Where'd he go?"

His answer game when the Stealth Viper's sensors picked up movement on the cliff wall behind him. He looked up and spotted the Shadowfox running down the cliff wall as if it were running across level ground. The Stealth Viper's head swung upwards in an attempt to shoot the Shadowfox, but the Fox's claws were already beginning to glow.

"Strike Laser Claw!" shouted Brad as the Shadowfox pushed off the cliff and slashed at the neck behind the Stealth Viper's head, defeating Gene.

"The battle is over!" announced the Judge, "The winner is… the Blitz Team."

Jamie commented from the hover cargo, "Good work guys, we've won our second Class S battle."

"You're likely to keep on winning," commented Gene, "Until you meet Derrik. Nobody I know has ever been able to beat him." He paused, considering the Blitz Team's skills. "But there's a first time for everything."

"Why don't you have dinner with us," offered Dr. Toros, "We'll help you fix up your zoids to.

"Thank you for the offer Doctor, I think we'll take you up on it."

Miles away, in the hangar that was listed as belonging to the Raptor Team, Derrik Fay watched the conclusion of the Blitz Team's battle with the Burning Sands Team. "They are doing well," he commented to himself.

He got up and headed for the space where his zoids were stored. As he entered the hanger, he looked around at the results of his life of zoid battles. The cubicles in the hangar's walls were occupied by a number of zoids. Some zoids, like the Rev Raptor that was his favorite, were fairly common on the market, but he had others, some rarer than even the Blitz Team imagined.

Directly across from the wall where his zoids were stored was a wall that was almost its mirror, but in miniature. Here, in this wall were finely detailed miniatures of all the zoids he possessed. In addition, there were a number of other models. He smiled as he picked a zoid model that was a miniature version of the Liger 0. It was a perfect, scaled down replica of the zoid owned and operated by the Blitz Team. He also selected a model that was a dead match for Leena's Gunsniper and one that could have been nothing but Brad's Shadowfox. He also selected a model that was a perfect replica of his favorite Rev Raptor.

They were toys really. He knew that, but they were also the keys to his success. He carried the four models over to a large flat table. There he called up the coordinates of a zoid battlefield. A perfect hologram flickered into existence on the table. He put each zoid on the table. To Derrik, these children's toys were more like chess pieces. He sat down with the forces of the Blitz Team arrayed against his Rev Raptor and began to figure his strategy.

At the Blitz Team's hangar, the team was enjoying a lively conversation with Gene and the members of the Burning Sands Team. "What can you tell me about Derrik Fay?" asked Bit.

"I remember seeing you talking to him at the dinner the other night," said Gene. "He is the best zoid pilot I have ever seen. My team made it to the rank below him twice and we lost to him twice. His zoid may only be a Rev Raptor, but he pilots it better than most people can pilot really high performance zoids.

"Another thing you'll notice about him is that he is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He'll give you a sound thrashing on the battlefield then offer you dinner. I've seen his hangar, he has more zoids than just the Rev Raptor he uses."

"So is he like Harry Champ in that zoid battles are just a pastime for rich people?" asked Brad (who having seen Harry Champ's collection of zoids had a lower opinion of people who battled as if it were a hobby).

"No, not at all. He was so successful that he made a fortune in zoid battles. All of those zoids were bought with the prize money he won in his victories. I think he may have as many as a dozen different aliases so that he can fight with every one of them."

"Is he as good in his other zoids as he is with his Rev Raptor?" asked Jamie, intrigued.

"Probably. Another thing I know is that every team in Class S thus far has lost to him at least once. Battling him is almost like a rite of passage." Gene looked up from the glass of orange juice he was sipping. "You may wonder how a Rev Raptor serves him so well, but you'll understand when you face him in battle, and you'll face him in battle soon at the rate you're going."

"How long will it be until we face him in battle?" asked Bit.

"Besides you, there are twenty other teams in Class S. You won't have to fight them all; but if you win every battle following this one you should face him about five or six battles from now. It all varies on how many zoids you lose in a given battle."

"I'll look forward to battling him," said Bit.

Not far away, and dangerously close to the headquarters of the Zoid Battle Commission, another person had been watching the Blitz Team's battle with more than interest.

Now the man sat alone in a well decorated room and reflected on what he saw. "The Blitz Team will prove a fitting challenge for my pilots, and it will certainly go well with our clients if we fight the team that took down the Backdraft group." The man's smile widened in anticipation of the battle to come.


	3. Chapter 3

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 3**

Disclaimer: If by now I have to tell you I don't own zoids then you haven't been reading this whole thing.

Brad sat back on the couch in the team lounge. It was always good to relax after a hard battle. The last battle he had been in had been particularly tense. They had barely managed to win by a sliver. Both the Liger 0 and the Gunsniper had to have some pretty expensive repairs done.

Fortunately, after four straight wins in Class S it was beginning to look like the team's financial problems were going to be a thing of the past. The prize money for winning a battle in Class S was an astronomical sum. A sum that would only increase as the Blitz Team moved upwards in rank.

On another upside, the battles were always challenging. Brad realized that it had been a while since he had been as exhilarated as he had been in the past few battles. Brad realized that Class S was nothing like the other classes he had been in. He remembered when he had first signed on the Blitz Team as a mercenary. Then, he found he liked the Blitz Team members, especially Leon. It had been Leon who had convinced him to remain on the Blitz Team.

Brad then turned his thoughts to the events of recent times. When Bit had joined the Blitz Team, the team had gone on a spectacular winning streak. Even against tough opponents like Naomi or Jack Sisco Bit had been able to pull them through. Even against the cheating tactics of the Backdraft group they had triumphed. Losing to the Lightening Team had been a minor setback and they did not experience such a loss again. During the Royal Cup, it was Bit who again pulled through for them. When Bit finally defeated the Berserk Fury, the Backdraft Group was finally out of options and was forced to surrender to the Zoid Battle Commission.

Now, Brad's thoughts turned to the Backdraft Group. The Backdraft specialized in setting up unsanctioned battles for the benefit of clients who gambled on the outcome. Since gambling was illegal, and virtually impossible to do during a sanctioned battle, the Backdraft received near unlimited funding to hijack battles so that others could wage money on the outcome. For over thirty years, the Backdraft Group had been a thorn in the side of the ZBC. The ZBC lost thousands in Zi currency to pay for the replacement of judges continuously destroyed by the Backdraft's own black judges. It was a good thing that the Backdraft Group was gone he reflected.

Stroma too, was reflecting on the Backdraft Group's history. The only difference was that his opinion of past events was not so relieved as Brad's. Stroma had been a financial backer for the Backdraft's unsanctioned battles. He remembered the fun he had, and the millions he had earned, gleaned from the spoils of the battles fought, were an additional perk.

When the Backdraft Group had finally fallen, he had managed to cover his tracks, showing no connection. In public he was Stroma Pearson, a very wealthy businessman whose company designed and marketed very useful zoid components. The loss of the Backdraft Group wasn't even a minor setback. However, without the entertainment they had provided him, he was bored to death. Stroma decided that the time was ripe for the next generation of the Backdraft Group.

He activated the intercom, "Have my whale king prepped for launch and have my team meet me on board, we are about to begin stage one." The Blitz Team had made a fine end for the last Backdraft Group, now they would make an even finer beginning for the new one.

The Blitz Team was on their way to their next battle. Their next opponents were the Redfire Team.

"I hope these guys are good," said Bit.

"I just hope that I get paid before the Doc spends all our prize money," said Brad.

"I don't why you guys are so worried, we have plenty of money," muttered the doctor, "What's wrong with spending a little."

"Because, once you start spending, you can't stop," said Jamie.

"Come on guys, don't get tense, why don't we just enjoy the battle," said Leena.

An hour later, the hover cargo arrived at the battlefield. The battlefield was completely unoccupied.

"Where's the other team?" asked Bit under his breath. The Blitz Team's zoids had already been mobilized, but still, nobody showed.

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling," said Jamie.

"You always get a bad feeling," said Leena.

"No, I mean bad in a familiar way."

"I'm getting a bad feeling too," said Bit. There was a sickening sensation in the pit of his stomach that there was going to be nothing good coming up.

Up above the battlefield, hidden by stealth systems beyond anything the Zoid Battle Commission had ever dreamed about, the whale king belonging to one Stoma Pearson was doing some preparations of its own.

Stoma was on the bridge, looking down at the battlefield below. Behind him stood a young man. The man's gray hair had grown long. His eyes, like his hair, were gray as well. He wore a black bodysuit that was preferred by many zoid warriors. His name was Garret, leader of the Strike Team.

Once representing the elite of the Backdraft Group, the Strike Team had been at the top of the ladder. However, unlike other Backdraft teams, the Strike Team had a strong sense of honor, and refused to resort to the pathetic tactics of the lesser teams. They needed no tricks, nor did they need to resort to attacking the other team's transport. They had a secret weapon of their own.

Stroma did not look over to acknowledge Garret's presence. He instead asked, "Has the other team been dealt with?"

Garret replied, "They have."

"Are the preparations for the battle done?"

"Yes."

"And the microwave antenna?"

"Deployed and charging."

"What is the judge capsule's ETA?"

"Thirty seconds."

"Get to your zoids, this will be a battle to remember."

Bit's heart almost leapt into his throat when the judge capsule arrived. He was so concerned about the other team's absence, that he, nor anyone else on the team, noticed the slowly descending whale king.

The capsule had begun to free itself from the crater it had made when Bit finally looked up and spotted the threat from above. "What's that whale king doing here?"

"Maybe it belongs to the other team," suggested Leena hopefully.

"I doubt it," said Brad.

Even as he spoke, the air rippled around a dish antenna that had unfolded from the whale king's belly. The rippling effect suddenly extended until at rested on the judge capsule, which had not yet opened. Then, the rippling column of air suddenly became a beam of energy, which hit the judge from directly above.

A storm of lightening surged around the judge capsule for a moment, then it opened. "Uh guys," said Leena, "What the heck is happening?"

"Hahahahahahahaha," laughed the judge. Bit was now trembling slightly. More frightening than the judge's laugh was its voice, shrill, like another kind of judge he knew. More frightening still was the pronouncement the judge made next.

"This battle has been taken over by the Backdraft Group." The whale king had pulled away slightly and now its underside hatch was opening. The judge continued, "Battlefield set up. The Strike Team vs. the Blitz Team." From the whale king's hatch came a fully equipped Shield Liger. Following it came a Gunbluster and after that, a weird bipedal zoid that Bit did not recognize, but reminded him a lot of the Berserk Fury.

Leena was the first to recognize it. "We saw three of those things at the Royal Cup. They were the zoids with charged particle cannons that attacked the Berserk Fury, never got its name though."

A cold measured voice came over the communications channel. "This zoid is called a Genosaurer. In the hands of one who knows how to use it, it is unstoppable."

"What's your name?" Bit demanded.

"My name will be none of your concern. Your primary concern will be the outcome of this battle."

The judge tired of waiting continued. "Battle mode 0999. Ready…Fight!"

"I'll take the Porcupine!" shouted Leena, giving the nickname for the Gunbluster.

"I've got the Shield Liger," said Brad coolly.

"I guess that leaves me the Genosaurer," muttered Bit, "Just great."

Leena ran to one side and aimed (if you could call what Leena does aiming) at the Gunbluster. "Gunsniper Weasel Unit…Total Assault!" she yelled. All of the Gunsniper's weapons fired simultaneously. The Gunbluster, which was already charging at her, suddenly did a ninety-degree turn, still skidding towards Leena.

The attack hit it full on. Leena started to cheer but the cheer died before it left her mouth as the smoke cleared. An energy shield was between her and the Gunbluster.

"The spikes on the side act as generators for an energy shield that extends around the perimeter," Jamie said informatively.

"Great, thanks for the advance warning," Leena grumbled. The Gunbluster started charging towards her again. She fired the Gunsniper's gattling guns at it, but they did little to slow the Gunbluster's charge.

The Gunbluster hit her hard with its nose spike and sent her sailing through the air. The Gunsniper landed, bounced once, and ended up on its side. It got back up though. However, Leena gulped when she saw that all twenty of the Gunbluster's cannons were pointing her way.

Meanwhile, Brad was having an easier time with the Shield Liger. Shield Ligers were hard zoids to control and it was difficult to bring out their full potential. This one was fully equipped with a double-barreled heavy beam cannon and a pair of eight shot missile launchers.

Brad did his best to stay alongside the zoid rather than in front of it. Fortunately for him, the Shield Liger's heavy beam cannon couldn't pivot around, while Brad's vulcan laser gun could. However, the pilot of the Shield Liger was no novice. He spun the Shield Liger in a ninety-degree turn, presenting Brad's Shadowfox with an energy shield to deflect his shots, and bringing him into the firing arc of the heavy beam cannons.

Brad pulled back on the controls, causing the Shadowfox to jump way from the energy beams the Shield Liger fired. He then tried to leap straight over the zoid, but barely missed being obliterated by a pair of missiles from the missile launcher.

The pilot spun his Shield Liger 180 and just barely managed to get the shield up in time to deflect Brad's next shots. Brad wiped sweat from his forehead before sending the Shadowfox into a dive to avoid another shot from the beam cannons. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought."

Bit was having problems of his own. The Liger 0 charged at the Genosaurer. The Genosaurer fired with its back-mounted pulse laser turret and with the gun on top of its head. Bit activated the Liger's ion boosters, causing the zoid to accelerate under the line of the Genosaurer's shots.

The two charging units on either side of the Liger's head opened up and the claws began to glow. "Strike Laser Claw!" Bit shouted. The Liger 0 jumped and slashed downwards. But the claws only cleaved through the air where the Genosaurer had been but seconds ago. As the Liger landed, it jumped backwards before Bit even registered that his attack had missed. It was a good thing took, laser blasts punched into the ground where the Liger had landed seconds ago. Not for the first time Bit silently thanked whatever forces were at work in the universe for allowing him to pilot an organoid zoid.

When he looked over to his right, he saw that the Genosaurer was a fair distance off. "That's strange, how can it move that fast?" He got his answer when the Genosaurer suddenly accelerated his was. The Liger leapt straight upward as the Genosaurer passed under him, Bit saw something glowing and burning. "Jets," he exclaimed, "That thing has hover jets, no wonder it's so fast."

When the Liger landed, he took off after the Genosaurer, only to find that the thing had stopped and was now facing him. The Liger closed to quickly for it to fire and tried to attack with the Strike Laser Claw again. But, the Genosaurer ducked down, swayed to the right, the Liger's claws passing mere inches from its flank. It then spun in a full 360 circle, sending its powerful and thick tail smashing into the Liger 0's side.

The Liger went flying, hitting the ground on its other side and skidding to a stop. Bit righted the Liger and looked to find the Genosaurer advancing on him at a walk. "Uh oh," he muttered.

Leena was in trouble. All twenty of the Gunbluster's cannons fired at her. Surprisingly, when the smoke cleared, she found that the Gunsniper was in one piece. She tried another Total Assault with the Weasel Unit, but the Gunbluster pilot was quick enough to present its flank to her and activate its shield.

Leena looked down on the data screens. "Uh oh, I'm almost out of ammo," she muttered. Then she looked and spotted something on the screen. The long-range rifle that was integrated into the Gunsniper's tail was fully stocked with ammunition. That surprised her. She never used the rifle and never thought to even load the thing.

Thinking fast, Leena made a mental note to thank Jamie (who was in charge of making sure that the zoids were loaded with ammunition, among other things). "Well isn't that ironic," she muttered angrily, "I never thought I'd have to resort to Naomi's methods to win this."

She then looked around and spotted what she was looking for. A fair distance off was a cliff that ran up to a small mesa. It was a perfect sniping position. The Gunsniper fired one last barrage at the Gunbluster. The Gunbluster once again spun ninety-degrees to present her with its flank shield. However, the attack was not targeted at the Gunbluster, but rather the ground around it. A thick cloud of smoke as all of the munitions detonated obscured the zoid's vision. Considering how much ammunition Leena had used, it was very thick.

She then took off at top speed for the cliff. Then she realized that she might even be able to make it to the cliff before the smoke cleared, if she dumped almost all her weapons. She cursed under her breath, then hit the switch that jettisoned all four missile pods and the shoulder mounted assault gattling units. Her zoid was now moving much faster.

Looking back she could see bullets and missiles flying wildly from the cloud of smoke. It was now a race to see if she could get to the cliff before the Gunbluster pilot figured out what she was trying to do.

Brad was still having problems with the Shield Liger. The Shield Liger's pilot was very experienced, and several times had almost blasted Brad. Only the Shadowfox's incredible agility had saved him time after time.

"It's time I took charge of this battle," said Brad. He activated the smoke discharger. Black smoke trailed out behind the Shadowfox as it ran around the Shield Liger in a circle. The Shield Liger was completely blinded by the smoke. Brad continued to circle around until the Shadowfox stood at the Shield Liger's left flank. The Shield Liger fired blindly, taken by surprise.

Brad then fired at the Shield Liger. The Shield Liger leapt forward. It almost managed to make it out of the line of fire, but Brad's shots raked its haunches, blasting of the two missile boxes and completely disabling the left, rear leg. When the smoke cleared, the Shield Liger was partially disarmed and limping badly.

Brad chuckled as he moved in to finish the Shield Liger. "You almost had me a couple of times, but now the battle's mine," he remarked casually over the communication's channel.

"If that's what you think, then you are sorely mistaken," came the reply. Brad was taken aback by how calm the speaker was. The next order made him jump in his seat. "Release the secret weapon!"

Brad instinctively looked up at the whale king, half expecting it to fire on him. But instead, a small hatch opened on the whale king's underside. A dark brown object dropped from the hatch. Somewhere on the thing, jets ignited and the object flew through the air.

Brad's first thought was that it was a missile directed at him. But the UFO's behavior soon proved him wrong. It came in low, but sailed over the Shadowfox without a second thought. It flew on until it was directly over the Shield Liger. Brad watched in awe as the object disappeared in a flash of blue energy that shot straight down into the Shield Liger.

The fireworks were nice, but what happened next nearly stopped Brad's heart. The Shield Liger's blue exterior was suddenly emitting a bright whitish-blue light. The light condensed around the damaged leg. When it was gone, the leg was as good as new. Then, two glistening threads of energy leapt from the Shield Liger and came to rest on the two detached missile boxes. The missile boxes glowed blue-white, then dissolved into energy, and the threads retracted back into the Shield Liger. There was another flash and the two missile boxes sat side by side, reattached and ready to go.

"Oh no," said Brad as the newly repaired Shield Liger turned to face him. Its shields came up and it charged at him with a leap.

Bit's problems were even greater. The Liger 0 zigzagged back and forth, getting a little closer, while dodging the Genosaurer's shots. Just as the Liger was in range for the Strike Laser Claw the Genosaurer abruptly turned around and swung its powerful tail downwards.

The Liger jumped back with less than a second to spare as the tail slammed the ground where the Liger had been standing. Bit fired the Liger's shock cannons, but the Genosaurer leapt straight up over the shots and came down facing the Liger, firing its cannons.

Bit dodged to the side and tried to rush past on the Genosaurer's right flank. The path took him right by a very large rock, which he noted could be very effective cover if he needed.

The Genosaurer surprised him yet again as its right fore claw shot at the Liger, attached to a thick cord. The claw caught the Liger by its right rear leg. The Genosaurer swung left, bringing the Liger off the ground. The Genosaurer suddenly changed the direction of its swing, cracking the cord like a whip and nearly ripping the Liger 0's leg off. Now swinging in the other direction, the Liger found its flight was obstructed by the same rock Bit had noted earlier.

The impact severely jolted the Liger, but it was not as badly damaged as Bit feared; though it did leave a nice Liger 0 shaped indentation on the rock as the Liger slid to the ground.

Bit was dazed, but the Liger 0 was not. The zoid leapt behind the rock just as the Genosaurer's shots cratered the ground. While the Liger was behind the rock, Bit managed to get his head together. He couldn't think of a way to beat the Genosaurer. The Genosaurer was heavily armed and armed, with agility and speed to boot. The zoid had no weaknesses as far as he was concerned, and if it fired its charged particle cannon while the Liger 0 was pinned then Bit was dead for sure.

"Awww, come out and play little kitty," taunted the Genosaurer's pilot. Garret was finding the battle very amusing. The Liger was an exceptional zoid, and Bit was an incredible pilot. Several times he had managed to thwart Garret's attacks with his jumps and dodges. But now, now that the great Liger 0 was reduced to cowering behind a rock, Garret's amusement knew no end.

"If you don't come out, then I'll just have to blast your cover." Using the hover jets, he moved back a ways. Then, he engaged the Genosaurer's foot lock. To spurs dropped down from the back of the legs. The Genosaurer's body straightened, the tail stretching straight out behind it. Three vents on the dorsal and ventral sides of the tail opened, and a barrel extended from the Genosaurer's open maw. A glowing ball of energy began to collect around the end of the barrel as the Genosaurer readied its most fearsome weapon, the charged particle cannon.

In a restaurant, miles away from that very battlefield, two people watched the continuing battle with more than a little interest. Leon and Naomi, the members of Naomi's Fluegal Team were astonished with the events of the battle.

The Blitz Team's battle with the Redfire Team was an eagerly anticipated event. However, when the Redfire Team had failed to arrive, and then the self announced new Backdraft group had appeared, there had been a small measure of panic.

The Genosaurer was a new zoid to both of them. The Shield Liger and the Gunbluster were familiar models. Leon was full of concern for his sister Leena, and for the other members of the team, whom he knew well.

Naomi was more concerned about Brad, having no small amount of affection for him. She did however, note with interest and amusement the fact that Leena had jettisoned the majority of her weapons and was making for a high point with all speed. "Now she'll understand why it's called a Gunsniper," said Naomi.

Leon continued to watch, with growing concern, the events unfolding in the fight between the Liger 0 and the Genosaurer. "Bit's in big trouble. That zoid has him pinned and it looks like it's going to fire a charged particle cannon."

"You're kidding," said Naomi, astonished. The charged particle cannon was a dangerous weapon. So dangerous in fact, that it had been made illegal to use in an officially sanctioned zoid battle. Unsanctioned battles were another matter, however.

"I just hope Bit and the others make it through this," said Leon.

"Me too," agreed Naomi. She tried to keep a calm face, but her hands were starting to tremble, "I'm too afraid of what will happen if they don't."

Leena was surprised at the success of her plan. Her Gunsniper was at the base of the cliff and the Gunbluster had not yet emerged from the obscuring smoke. Her primary fear was that it would take too long to scale the cliff and reach her sniping position. She needn't have worried. The Gunsniper had been designed with dashing for a vantagepoint in mind. The zoid made it up the cliff in less time than it took for the Gunsniper to reach the base.

Leena then armed the long-range rifle. The Gunsniper's feet anchored it in place while the tail straightened and extended. Leena's seat pivoted around and she put her shoulder into the shoulder brace and looked into the targeting screen. Using the screen to guide her, she found the Gunbluster just emerging from a cloud of smoke.

The rifle found a target lock immediately. She didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. The shot took the Gunbluster right behind the cockpit. The zoid dropped, completely and totally disabled.

Leena shouted for joy, but her joy was short lived when out of the corner of her eye she saw a very bright flash of light. Then the memory came back to her, of a trio of very familiar zoids almost killing her with an unreal blast of energy. "Oh no," her hands trembled, "Bit!"

Brad was in trouble. Not only had the Shield Liger repaired itself, but also it was stronger, moving and reacting faster. He was barely able to dodge the zoid's shots. The pilot of the Shield Liger was trying a new tactic. He activated the shield then charged forward, turning the shield into a powerful battering ram.

Brad was able to stay ahead of the shield, but he knew that he couldn't avoid the Shield Liger's attacks forever, he had to find a way to end this, and quickly. As the Shield Liger charged again and the Shadowfox dodged, Brad quickly formulated a plan.

After dodging the Shield Liger, the Shadowfox started to run away. "What? Leaving so soon," came the taunting voice on the other side of the communications channel. The Shield Liger activated its shield and charged after the Shadowfox.

It was what Brad had hoped for. The Shadowfox's tail opened up and fired. The missile fired by the Shadowfox blew apart, revealing a net. The net flew with deadly accuracy, but its flight was halted by the Shield Liger's shield. Lightening crackled as the net's electromagnetic charge fired.

Brad knew this was the critical juncture. He stopped and spun the Shadowfox 180. He fired the vulcan laser gun. The fire spattered across the shield. It held for a moment, then collapsed under the strain of both the net's electric charge and the Shadowfox's gun.

Brad wasted no time in carefully aiming his fire. His first and second shots took of the top and bottom generators, disabling the shield. Then the Shadowfox charged the Shield Liger for a change. The claws started to glow and the Shadowfox leapt into the air. "Strike Laser Claw!" Brad cried.

The attack almost ripped the Shield Liger in half, but Brad was not done. After landing from the Strike Laser Claw attack, he fired the vulcan laser gun, peppering the Shield Liger with a continuous stream of shots. He did not let go of the trigger until he saw a flash of light that became a brown object flying under jet power away from the mortally wounded zoid.

Suddenly, a flash exploded on Brad's left and he immediately spun the Shadowfox in that direction. When he realized what it was, his heart sank in his chest. "Bit!"

The flash of light momentarily blinded Bit. The Liger crouched as low as it could to avoid the debris as shards of rock buzzed about like enraged hornets. Garret had aimed the Genosaurer's charged particle cannon too high. The blast had obliterated most of the rock, leaving behind only a low piece, which barely concealed the Liger 0.

Bit knew that Garret was toying with him before finishing the job. Garret had only to aim the charged particle cannon a little lower and it would all be over. Bit looked frantically for some means of escape, but he could see none. "This is it," he said under his breath.

Leena knew she didn't have time to aim carefully. The Genosaurer was already charging for another blast. She swung the rifle's end around and pulled the trigger. She hoped that she might disable the Genosaurer. The rifle fired.

Leena's shot went a little too high. It missed the body of the Genosaurer, but on the other hand, the turret was blown off. Garret growled in frustration. He would have to deal with the sniper before finishing the Liger 0. He retracted the Genosaurer's foot lock while turning towards the distant cliff where the Gunsniper perched.

Setting down the foot lock again, Garret ran the cannon up to full charge. The charged particle beam shot towards the cliff. However, it was to far for Garret to aim effectively, and the beam hit the cliff below the Gunsniper.

Bit's eyes widened, "Leena!"

Leena managed a strangled scream before the cliff gave way beneath her, sending her plunging towards the unyielding ground at its base.

At the restaurant, Leon stood up so quickly that his chair fell over. "Leena!"

The Shadowfox ground to a halt as Brad saw the Genosaurer fire at Leena. He then realized that he needed to help take that thing down or more people would be hurt. Without hesitating, he spurred the Shadowfox onward.

The Gunsniper hit the slope of the cliff, hard. Inside the cockpit, Leena was bounced around, until she hit her head on a control panel and lost consciousness. The Gunsniper hit the ground in a heap.

Garret watched with satisfaction as the Gunsniper slammed into the ground. He then turned the Genosaurer towards Bit. "Now it's your turn." The Genosaurer began to power up its charged particle cannon. Garret caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He canceled the particle cannon. The Genosaurer then ducked quickly.

Glowing light swept past overhead as the Shadowfox's Strike Laser Claw missed the Genosaurer by mere inches. Bit, taking advantage of Garret's distraction made a break for it in the opposite direction. He turned around and faced the Genosaurer.

Even though he was outflanked by the Liger 0 and the Shadowfox, Garret was not worried in the least. The Shadowfox charged. The Genosaurer used its hover jets to propel it forward, and out of harms way. His forward movement almost carried him into the remains of the stone that had provided cover for the Liger 0.

Instead of stopping, Garret did not deactivate the hover jets. The Genosaurer placed one foot on the stone and jumped. Propelled by the force of the hover jets, the Genosaurer jumped high into the air, performing a perfect 180 in the air. As the Genosaurer started to come down, Garret fired the cannon on its head.

The Shadowfox easily avoided the shots, and ended up standing side by side with the Liger 0. Garret saw the perfect opportunity to dispose of both of them. He charged them. At the last minute, he deactivated the hover jet in one leg and used that leg to kick of the ground.

The kick spun the Genosaurer rapidly into the two other zoids. The Liger jumped, barely clearing the whirling tail. Brad, on the other hand, was caught off guard by the maneuver. The spinning zoid's tail slammed into the Shadowfox, sending it flying. It crashed a few hundred yards away, out of the battle.

Bit eyed the Genosaurer warily. "I don't think we can beat it partner." The Liger roared its defiance at its opponent. Then, of its own volition, it turned and sprinted for the hover cargo.

In the hover cargo, Jamie looked down at the status screen. A flashing message caught his eye. "The Liger 0 is calling the Schnider armor."

"Great idea partner," said Bit, "The Shnider'll rip his zoid to pieces."

Garret watched the retreating zoid with almost casual interest. "Must be off to change its armor," he said. He walked the Genosaurer so that it was positioned in a straight line to the hover cargo's front. The Genosaurer began charging its cannon.

Inside the hover cargo, the Liger finished the transformation to Shnider. "Liger 0 Shnider CAS complete," announced Jamie. The Liger went up to the catapult.

"Go Shnider!" The Shnider hit the ground running. Bit wasn't the least bit surprised to find the Genosaurer waiting for him. Around him, the five blades of the Shnider's Buster Slash began to form. They extending and came out around the Liger's head.

"Get out of the way Bit," cried Jamie, "It's going to fire its charged particle cannon." Bit ignored Jamie's warning, and so did the Liger.

Garret sneered, "Fool." He fired the charged particle cannon.

Bit yelled, "Buster Slash!" as the Liger's charge carried it right into the charged particle beam. For a moment he was blinded by the light, but the Liger continued forward.

Jamie watched in stunned amazement, "The Buster Slash is cutting right through the charged particle beam."

The Liger pressed onward until it found the beam's source. The Liger's blades deeply scored the Genosaurer's left flank, slicing off its arm and leg on that side. Behind the Genosaurer, the Liger skidded to a halt and roared in triumph as the Genosaurer collapsed.

"Battle over! Battle over!" The judge slumped forward and slowly raised one arm, "The winner is…the Blitz Team…Humph!"

The capsule closed and the judge capsule lifted off, nearly clipping the whale king.

On the whale king, Stroma looked on calmly. "Well we lost," he reflected, "But we shall be all the more ready to win the next time. The gains far outweigh the losses." He turned and walked from the bridge.

Down on the battlefield, Garret carefully reviewed the course the battle had taken. He no longer harbored any doubts as to the Liger 0's power. He also had a new found respect for the skills of the various members of the Blitz Team. Defeating his team was no easy feat. He looked up at the whale king hovering above, knowing the precious and powerful cargo it contained. "Perhaps," he reflected, "I can find an even better use for that power."


	4. Chapter 4

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 4**

Disclaimer: I do not own zoids nor am associated with its owners.

Bit slumped into the couch, exhausted. With Jamie and the Doc's help, they had managed to recover the Gunsniper and the Shadowfox. Brad was no worse for his ordeal, but Leena had suffered a bad concussion. Right now, she was in her room, still out cold.

The Doctor they had taken her to (Toros was not a medical doctor) said there would be no lasting damage. He had then given her a sedative to help with the recovery. "Activity will slow the recovery progress," he had said, "And particularly stressful activity may change the prognosis and leave lasting damage."

Dr. Toros had gotten in touch with the Chairman of the Zoid Battle Commission. The Chairman said that he would most certainly look into rumors regarding the new Backdraft Group and would contact the Toros Base with any information.

The damage to the Shadowfox was easily repaired. The structural damaged mostly consisted of some bent pieces of the frame, easily replaced. The Gunsniper's level of damage, from its long tumble down the cliff, was much higher. In addition to the severely damaged structure, key circuits had been broken, and the weapons had to be reattached. Further, there was some auxiliary damage from the near miss of the Genosaurer's charged particle cannon.

Per the Doctor's request (Toros that is), the Blitz Team had been given temporary leave while Leena was recovering.

On board the Ultrasaurus that served as the Zoid Battle Commission's home base, the Chairman scratched his chin, deep in thought. The news that the Backdraft Group had resurfaced made him anxious. The Backdraft Group had been a dangerous organization before, now it appeared that this new incarnation was using the Zoid Battle Commission's own judges in their unsanctioned battles.

Who had the resources to run such a complex and secretive organization? The previous group had been more like the Zoid Battle Commission's evil twin. This organization was more like a shadow. It did not really seem to exist, yet it was there.

Stroma looked over the warriors of his Strike Team. Garret, the team's leader was impossible to read his face impassive. The other two warriors, Jeremy and Daniel, looked slightly crestfallen. It was understandable, considering they had lost their first battle. So much for the new Backdraft Group's glorious debut.

Yet, Stroma was not actually disappointed in them. The battle had given him an idea of the team's strength's and weaknesses. He knew they had seen their own errors as well. Garret had been piloting the Genosaurer, a zoid fit only for the team leader. Jeremy had been piloting the Shield Liger and Daniel the Gunbluster.

"You have fought well for your first battle. I did not expect last from the finest team in my organization's predecessor," he began, "The purpose of this battle was not necessarily to win, but rather to give you an idea of your own abilities. You shall go into battle again, whether you win or loose is not important, what is, is that you learn."

Over a period of three weeks, the Backdraft Group took over six battles and won them all. Rumors continued to spread of the mysterious organization. The Chairman was in distress. He couldn't do nothing, yet, the only thing he could do was nothing. Despite the rise in the number of battles taken over, he had no information, nothing that would allow him a predictive edge over the Backdraft, nothing even to counter their actions.

At the Toros Base, Dr. Toros blessed the Blitz Team with good news, sort of. "Our accounts have unexpectedly increased," said Toros, "The money was transferred immediately after the hijacked battle."

"How much was it?" asked Brad, always keen on money matters.

"Forty times the normal amount of prize money for a Class S battle."

Bit whistled appreciatively, "That's a small fortune."

The doctor wasn't finished "There was also a message with the money."

"What was it?" asked Jamie.

Dr. Toros's voice took on an ominous tone. "To the victor go the spoils, congratulations."

"Sounds like the Backdraft Group gave us some prize money," said Leena who was finally up an about, albeit dazed and with an ice pack strapped to her head.

"Sure does," said Bit.

"Another thing," Toros added, "With Leena on recovery, we have been granted temporary leave, however I canceled the leave after Leena woke up."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Bit, somewhat concerned, "Leena isn't in any condition to fight right now." Leena glared at him, but was to dazed and tired to do anything.

"That won't be a problem," said Toros, "Jamie will be her substitute for now. This is important considering our next opponent is the Sun Team."

"The Sun Team!" Jamie exclaimed, "I've been waiting to fight those guys."

"Well now you have your chance," said Dr. Toros.

Two days later, the Blitz Team was in route to the battlefield. The hover cargo was a full live aboard craft, with a kitchen, lounge, and even a home theater. Bit was in the lounge when Leena came and sat across from him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

"I'm just wondering whether it would be better to use the Jager or the Panzer for this battle," replied Bit.

"Well, the Jager has the speed to keep up with airborne types," Leena said.

"Yeah, but maybe it's better to use the Panzer. The Panzer's Burning Bigbang attack is good for taking out airborne foes. I'm just not sure."

Leena locked her gaze with his, "Just do what you feel you have to. Use whatever you think works best."

"Are you sure you're alright Leena? You hardly sound like yourself." Leena chuckled at this remark and left, leaving Bit feeling very puzzled. "Maybe that bump to the head was an improvement," he muttered. In reality he was concerned. Leena just wasn't herself lately. He dismissed it and concentrated on the problem at hand.

"When the Blitz Team arrived at the battlefield they found, to Bit's relief, the Sun Team waiting for them. The Sun Team consisted of a Redler, a Pteras, a Storm Sworder, with a Raynos rounding off the team.

The judge capsule landed and the battle began normally. "The area within a thirty-mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield, only competitors and personnel have authorization. Danger! All others must leave at once. Area Scanned, battlefield set up. The Blitz Team versus the Sun Team. Battle mode 0993. Ready…Fight!"

Bit had settled on the Jager for the battle. The Jager charged forward with the Shadowfox close behind. The Jamie in his Raynos surged forward. The Sun Team leader in her own Raynos throttled up to meet him.

The Pteras tried to come in low, firing its rockets at the Shadowfox and Liger 0. With a deft flick of the controls Bit activated the Jager Ion Boosters. He charged head on at the missiles, but at the last moment swerved left hard.

A few of the missiles continued on their course, their guidance systems overloaded by the targeting data which had changed to rapidly for them to compute. The majority swerved in pursuit of the Liger. The Liger turned hard again, this time to the right. A few more missiles lost their lock and crashed or detonated prematurely. Bit suddenly cut the Jager's jets and dropped low. The remaining missiles shot by overhead, and crashed.

Brad countered the Pteras's attacks with the vulcan laser gun. The pilot in the Pteras deftly avoided the ground fire. In a few seconds it flew up high, beyond the range of Brad's guns and tried to perform some high altitude bombing.

Jamie had his hands full with the opposing team's Raynos. Their two zoids swerved, dived, juked, sideslipped, barrel rolled, and climbed in attempts to find the other zoid in its sights. So far neither had gained a definite advantage.

Bit had managed to shake the Pteras's shots, but found that the Storm Sworder and the Redler were quickly closing with him. The Liger ran alongside a cliff to limit the airborne zoids' firing options. The Redler came in first. The pilot cruised as close to the cliff as he dared. Bit saw an opportunity. The Liger used its momentum to run up and along the cliff as if it were level ground. The Redler soared by, now underneath the Liger.

The pilot tried to correct his error, but it was too late. The Jager's Strike Laser Claw hit home, taking off a wing. The Redler crashed into the ground. The Storm Sworder pilot was more cautious. The first thing he did was fire a pair of missiles at the Liger.

Bit waited as the missiles closed with him. At the last possible moment, the Jager sideslipped left, so fast that it left an image in its former location. The missiles lost their target lock with the sudden change in the Jager's position. One crashed into the ground, the other detonated in midair, neither doing any damage to the Liger.

In the air, Jamie and his opponent continued their airborne duel. The other Raynos suddenly found a spot on Jamie's tail. No matter what maneuvers he performed, Jamie couldn't shake his opponent.

A shot grazed his wing. The Raynos went into a nosedive. It appeared for a moment that his opponent had won. But, as always in moments of crisis, Jamie's subconscious suddenly shifted. With a loud whoop, the Raynos and its pilot returned to the battle. The opposing Raynos was again on his tail but the Wild Eagle (as he called himself now) was not concerned. He performed dodges and twists that caused the fire to go wide.

The Wild Eagle pulled his Raynos into a steep climb. His opponent followed him. In the cockpit the Sun Team leader struggled to get a lock at the suddenly elusive target. Both Raynoses climbed into a layer of clouds. Through the clouds, she barely managed to see Jamie's Raynos turn its climb into a loop as the Wild Eagle sought to get behind her. She was no novice however, and followed him into his loop.

The Wild Eagle got an idea. He leveled off. Then he snapped the Raynos into a hard left turn. His opponent followed. Then he snapped the Raynos into a hard right turn, then left, then right. His opponent managed to stay with him for a while, but the G-forces finally began to take their toll on the pilot. As the Raynos snapped into yet another turn, she could no longer stand it. She banked the opposite direction.

The Wild Eagle, who had near endless tolerance for high G-forces, saw that his plan had worked. Cutting the engines and applying the air brakes, the Wild Eagle hauled back on the Raynos's control stick, then hitting the throttle and the booster jets simultaneously. The result was that the Raynos almost instantly reversed direction. The other pilot never even saw him coming. The Raynos's fire hit the engines and she went down in one pass.

The Liger 0's duel with the Storm Sworder wasn't going as well. The Storm Sworder was faster than even the Jager's Ion Boosters. Several times the Liger had been thrown about by the powerful sonic booms caused by the Storm Sworder's passing. Bit knew he had to do something and fast.

Brad was having an easier time. The Shadowfox ran along the edge of a gorge. The Pteras had finally used up all of its bombs and was forced to attempt strafing attacks. Brad waited for the Pteras to come in behind him for another strafing run. At the last possible minute, the Shadowfox leapt of the edge and into the gorge.

The Pteras passed by above and turned to come for another pass. However, in order to make a successful strafing run, it had to fly through the gorge. Brad was waiting for him. The Pteras pilot knew he had no where to dodge. It didn't help when he flew through a thick cloud of the Shadowfox's smoke. Brad's fire took it down quickly.

Bit got an idea to deal with the Storm Sworder. He waited until the Storm Sworder passed overhead again. He charged after the zoid. The sonic boom still caught up with him. The Liger jumped into the air and actually rode the sonic boom. Still caught in the sonic boom, Bit activated the Jager's Ion Boosters. The sudden acceleration caused the Liger to shoot forward even faster, past the confused Storm Sworder pilot and dealing the Storm Sworder a crippling blow to the engines.

The Storm Sworder crashed. "The battle is over. The battle is over. The winner is…the Blitz Team," the judge pronounced.

Back at the Toros Base, Bit, Brad, Jamie, Leena, and Dr. Toros were in the lounge having dinner when an announcement came on the video screen. Jamie went up to look at it and gasped in amazement.

"What is it?" asked Bit.

Jamie replied, "It's our next scheduled battle."

"What? We just got off the battlefield and they're announcing the next battle already!" Exclaimed Bit.

"Actually it's scheduled for a week from today," came Jamie's reply.

"Oh, no big deal then."

Brad had to ask, "Who's the unlucky opponent."

Jamie gulped and paled slightly, "We're up against Derrik Fay." Only stunned silence followed this pronouncement.


	5. Chapter 5

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 5**

Disclaimer: I do not own zoids, never have never will.

Bit was feeling restless and was taking Liger out for a run. He remembered when he had met Derrik Fay on the Ultrasaurus during the dinner held for the Blitz Team by all the other Class S teams. Derrik had seemed like such a nice person. It was a shock to find that the casually talking man was the top warrior in Class S.

He remembered what he had heard about Derrik Fay. Derrik's zoid of choice was a Rev Raptor. Rev Raptors were the cannon fodder of the zoids world. Rev Raptors were known to be weak in both the areas of attack and defense. Their two scythe blades held no laser generators and thus were no match for most zoids with that kind of weaponry. Their arm mounted cannons (their only ranged armament) had virtually no penetration power and would be hard pressed to punch through the lightest armor. And even though they were fast and maneuverable, they could be brought down with the lightest hit.

The primary fact about Rev Raptors was not their weakness, but rather the fact that they were inexpensive. Dozens of teams started out with nothing more than Rev Raptors because Rev Raptors were the best they could afford. Such teams rarely made it very high until they earned enough prize money to get more powerful zoids.

If Derrik had been able to make it into Class S with nothing but a Rev Raptor, Bit reflected, and then made it to the top of Class S, his skills would be unreal. Bit wondered how hard this battle would be.

Back at Toros Base, the other members of the Blitz Team, Brad, Jamie, Leena, and Dr. Toros had an unexpected visit from Leon and Naomi. Leon had arrived with no warning. Jamie was first to spot him.

"Leon!" Jamie exclaimed excitedly. Leon had been the Blitz Team's leader before Bit had arrived. Soon after Bit hired on Leon had left in an attempt to define the extent of his skills. He later joined Naomi on the Fluegal Team, his Red Blade Liger's close combat capabilities complementing the long range combat power of Naomi's Gunsniper.

Leon had supported Bit during his beginning time on the team. He came back later as Bit's prime rival. Bit had finally defeated him in the Royal Cup. Despite their rivalry, Leon remained on good terms with the entire team, Bit included.

"How are you guys doing?" asked Brad.

"We're doing pretty well for ourselves," replied Naomi. After the incident involving a gang called the Desert Stingrays, Brad and Naomi had become very close. It was no secret that they harbored affection for one another, yet neither ever really announced it.

"I hear that you're going up against Derrik Fay in a few days," said Leon.

"Yeah, Bit's feeling a little nervous about it so he took the Liger 0 out for a run," said Leena, instinctively knowing her brother's next question.

"I'd like to talk to him when he gets back," said Leon.

"How in the heck did this happen!" cried a pilot in frustration. The pilot was none other than Garret, the leader of the Backdraft Group's Strike Team. The team, consisting of a Genosaurer, piloted by Garret, a Gunbluster, and a Shield Liger, was participating in another unsanctioned battle. Their opponent had been a lone Rev Raptor.

A casual observer would have never known a Rev Raptor had been a participant in the battle had he not seen the Rev Raptor for himself. The zoid was a blur of motion as it fought, its movements unpredictable, and guided by a pilot of unbelievable skill.

Garret looked out at the remains of his team. The Gunbluster had been gutted by an explosion from within. Somehow the Rev Raptor had fired a shot straight down one of the Gunbluster's cannon barrels, detonating its entire store of ammunition.

The other member of his team, the Shield Liger, was downed by a number of slashes that cut weapons off and deeply scored the side. Its condition was beyond the power their secret weapon had.

Garret's Genosaurer was still standing, that changed in a matter of seconds. The Rev Raptor came in, spinning like a top. Its blade delivered a single strike, with a follow-through by the outside edge of the second blade, and a second follow-through by the first blade as the zoid spun completely around. The Genosaurer collapsed defeated.

The Rev Raptor stood over its opponents as the judge reluctantly handed the victory to the Raptor Team. "Underestimation is a powerful weakness," Derrik Fay said with a smile. 

When Bit finally came back from his run with the Liger 0, Leon was waiting for him. Naomi and Brad had gone off to have dinner together while the others waited for Bit's return. Leon smiled when Bit hopped from the Liger's cockpit. "You must be nervous, you've never been out that long," Leon commented.

"Hey Leon, come by for a visit?" asked Bit.

"Yeah you could say that," he replied.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" asked Bit, getting very suspicious of Leon's tone.

"I have some important information about Derrik Fay," said Leon.

"Is this something that you want me to hear or can the rest of the team hear it?"

"The rest of the team can listen in."

"Anything that'll give us an edge over this guy," stated Leena flatly.

"Well my information won't necessarily give you any kind of edge," said Leon, "But it is very important."

"Well, lets go to the briefing room and hear what you have to say son," said Dr. Toros.

A few minutes later, the Blitz Team (with the exception of Brad who was still out with Naomi) and Leon were all seated.

Leon began, "I did some checking up on the history of the Liger 0. It wasn't easy to find. It appears that the Liger went from auction to auction after various people bought it and found that none of their team members could pilot the Liger 0."

"And what does this have to do with Derrik Fay?" asked Bit.

"I finally managed to track records all the way back to when the Liger was first auctioned off. I found this very interesting piece of information. The first person to own the Liger 0 was none other than Derrik Fay."

Silence reigned around the room as the Blitz Team took time to digest Leon's announcement. None of them had ever known anything about the Liger 0's past. Was it possible that perhaps Derrik Fay was not only the first person to own the Liger 0, but could he have been its creator as well?

During the silence, Leon left. Bit already knew that he had no more answers. That night, Bit couldn't sleep with the questions racing through his mind.

A few days later, the Blitz Team arrived at the battlefield for their battle with Derrik Fay. They mobilized the Gunsniper, the Shadowfox, and, of course, the Liger 0, equipped with the Shnider armor. On the other side of the battlefield, Derrik's lone Rev Raptor stood.

The judge capsule plummeted from the sky. "The area within a 30 mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield…" ect. "The Blitz Team versus the Raptor Team. Battle mode 0993 ready…fight!"

The Blitz Team surged into motion. Leena went to the left to line up for a good shot at the Rev Raptor while the Liger 0 and the Shadowfox went in opposite directions to hit the zoid from both sides.

The Rev Raptor held its ground. It was slowly shifting the aim of its right arm cannon. Leena did not pay it any mind. The Rev Raptor would be lucky to hit her from that distance, much less disable her. Inside the cockpit of his zoid, Derrik smiled and pulled the trigger.

The single shot fired by the Rev Raptor hit the Gunsniper in the right knee. Unable to hold its own weight, further stressed by the heavy weapons, the Gunsniper sagged, then collapsed, unable to fight in the battle any more.

"What the?!" Leena exclaimed, "How did he take me down with one shot.

"He targeted the area of the most concentrated stress on the Gunsniper," said Jamie, "That was the knee. With all your modifications, the Gunsniper wasn't able to stand and collapsed."

"Just great," Leena growled.

"Let me try this Bit," said Brad.

"Don't be a fool Brad, lets stick to the plan or he'll take us down one by one," said Bit.

"Don't worry," replied Brad. The Shadowfox stalked in close to the Rev Raptor. It then activated its smoke dischargers, flooding the area around them with heavy, black smoke. Derrik quickly lost sight in the thickening cloud.

Derrik did not need his eyes, or the Rev Raptor's sensors to guide him. He quietly waited until the expected flash came. He leaned the Rev Raptor to the right the Shadowfox's shots passing inches from his left side.

On his sensors, Brad saw an explosion on the Rev Raptor's left side, flinging it to the ground. "I think I got him," said Brad.

"His zoid's down, but the command system hasn't frozen yet," said Jamie.

"Better not let him get back up," said Brad, moving the Shadowfox into point blank range to get the best shot he could. The Shadowfox stood over the Rev Raptor and started to angle its cannon down. Suddenly, the Rev Raptor's left arm moved. Brad found the Rev Raptor's arm cannon almost touching the Shadowfox's neck.

"Fooled you," Derrik said and pulled the trigger. The Shadowfox sagged to the ground, defeated.

"What happened?" asked Bit, unsure of what was happening in the smoke cloud.

"Derrik was playing possum," said Dr. Toros, "That's pretty clever."

"Would you give our team a little more support Doc?" whined Jamie.

"Guess it's up to us partner," said Bit, the Liger 0 roared in agreement. "Let's go Liger!" cried Bit.

With a roar, the Liger 0 charged into the smoke cloud, blades extended, and out the other side. Bit saw the Rev Raptor retreating towards a nearby cliff. "Oh no you don't," he said and then gave chase.

The Schnider fired its jet boosters to close the gap with the retreating Rev Raptor. The side blades were extended and charged with laser energy. Derrik looked back to find the Liger closing with him. "So far, so good," he commented to himself.

The Rev Raptor was almost at the base of the cliff when it jumped. Bit almost halted his charge when he saw the Rev Raptor jump. The Rev Raptor reoriented in the air and hit the cliff feat first, pushing off towards the Liger 0.

Because it had jumped up to reach the cliff, the Rev Raptor was coming at the Liger from an above angle, where it was unprotected by its laser blades. The Rev Raptor's scythe blade cut straight through the Liger's back along its midline. The Liger went a couple more steps and fell.

"The battle is over. The battle is over. The winner is…the Raptor Team," the judge announced.

From a restaurant where he had been watching the battle, Gene, the leader of the Burning Sands Team commented, "I guess they weren't the exception."

"Aww we lost Doc," sighed Jamie.

"That's alright Jamie," said Dr. Toros, "You can't win every battle."

Out on the battlefield Bit watched the Rev Raptor as it walked away. "Wait a minute," he shouted, "I want to talk to you Derrik."

The Rev Raptor paused. "How would you guys like to come have dinner with me?" he said, "I'm quite sure I can answer you question's there."

"Sure," said Bit.

An hour later, the Blitz Team was having dinner with Derrik at his home base. Derrik proved to be a phenomenal cook. While the Blitz Team was having dinner, Derrik waited for the inevitable questions.

Finally, Bit spoke, "Leon did some research and found that you were the owner of the Liger 0."

"And you want to know if I created the Liger 0," said Derrik. It was a statement, not a question. Bit nodded anyway.

Derrik closed his eyes, remembering. "Back in my younger days (I started fighting in zoid battles when I was nine) I got the idea that I would create the perfect partner. The zoid I had in mind was going to be powerful, not only with regard to weaponry. My plan was for the zoid's true power to be in its intelligence. I dreamed of creating a zoid that was akin to a living creature.

"I remembered hearing stories passed down to me by my father who received them from his grandfather and so on. Those stories dated back to the days of the war between the Helic Republic and the Guylos Empire."

Brad whistled, "That's a while back."

"Two hundred, thirty-seven years to be exact," said Derrik. "Among a few of those stories were about both sides of the war trying to obtain special units called Organoids. These Organoids are not the same as the one bonded with the Liger 0. Back then they were separate units altogether, with the power to fuse with the zoid core of any zoid they chose. Organoids could enhance a zoid's performance, increase speed, power, and reduce reaction time. They could even perform limited repairs on a zoid.

"My first thought was that if an Organoid could be permanently fused with the zoid core of a zoid, it would be a hundred times more effective. And thus, I began my first attempt at building an Ultimate X, a zoid with a permanently bonded Organoid, one that would be more powerful after each battle, whether it won or lost.

"I was naïve when I started, and foolish enough to try and use a Genosaur as a base model for producing an Organoid. Organoids are living things with feelings and emotions. An Organoid permanently bonded with a zoid takes on emotions that match a zoid's capabilities. A Genosaurer's capabilities were so destructive that the Organoid immediately took on powerful aggressive tendencies. In the zoid I created was a deep-seated need to destroy. I realized that such a zoid was too dangerous to ever be used in a zoid battle. I buried it under the sea, but not before giving it a name, the Berserk Fury."

"You created the Berserk Fury too?" exclaimed Jamie.

"Yes, I did not anticipate that there would be anyone who could control it to the degree that Vega Obscura could. He had done well in reigning in the Fury's destructive attitude. I have no intentions of taking the Berserk Fury away from him."

He paused then continued on his original course, "After my failure with the fury, I looked to a zoid that would not instill such aggressive tendencies in an Organoid. I realized that in order to do that, I would have to find a zoid that was not so purely destructive as the Genosaurer. I finally settled on a Liger type zoid. I realized I was successful as soon as it was completed, but I did not realize the scope of my success.

"I was surprised and annoyed when the Liger 0 refused to allow me to so much as enter the cockpit. Then I realized that this zoid would not be a danger to a person who possessed it, unlike the Berserk Fury. I did not want to reduce such a beautiful thing to scrap simply because it would not allow me to pilot it. I knew that there was someone out there somewhere, someone whom the Liger 0 would approve of. I figured the best way to do that would be to release the Liger 0 onto the open market and hope that through random events that it would eventually meet its chosen pilot.

"However, the creation of the Berserk Fury and the Liger 0 bankrupted me. I had barely enough money to buy the Rev Raptor. I realized that I would have to not only know how to pilot the Rev Raptor, but also how to bring out its full potential if I were ever going to last long enough to try again at building an Ultimate X."

"You're going to try and build another one?" asked Leena, stunned by the story.

"Yes, when I built the Liger 0 and the Berserk Fury, I had but a tiny fraction of the funds I possess now. With the prize money I won from today's battle, I will have enough to start with more than enough to fall back on if I prove incorrect in my latest theorems in building and Ultimate X."

"What unit are you going to base this one on?" asked Bit.

"I will base it on my favorite type of zoid, the Rev Raptor," said Derrik.

"Should be fairly inexpensive then," said Jamie.

"No, I expect this to be a very expensive endeavor. I plan on building a completely new kind of zoid. The Rev Raptor is mostly my inspiration, but the zoid I am going to create will be completely original from the raw materials up," he said proudly.

Brad, who had been silent up until then, spoke. "You mentioned that the early Organoids had the power to fuse with any zoid they chose, enhancing its abilities?" he asked.

"Yes."

"During our battle with the Backdraft Group's Strike Team, they used something called their secret weapon. Whatever it was fused with their Shield Liger. Afterwards, not only did it repair itself, but it also enhanced its performance."

"Hmmmm, I fear that you are too accurately describing an Organoid for my liking. It could be extremely dangerous for an Organoid to be in league with a group such as the Backdraft Group."

Brad's eyes narrowed slightly, "Maybe it's being forced to help them."

Derrik's expression did not change, "No, remember that I said an Organoid has emotions. There is one emotion an Organoid never experiences, fear. In addition to that, when an Organoid fuses with a zoid, it has the option of taking complete control of a zoid. An Organoid can not truly be controlled. There are some that might recognize and respect someone as superior to them, but they follow only by choice. No, an Organoid cannot be forced into coercion.

"My greatest fear is the potential this Organoid has. If an Organoid fuses with a zoid often enough and gains enough experience enhancing the zoid in battle, then the Organoid can alter the zoid and its core. This process is an evolution, the zoid that emerges from an evolution is substantially more powerful than its previous form. If the Organoid evolves just one of the Backdraft Group's zoids, then battles will be even more difficult."

Derrik glanced at his watch, "I think you should be getting back to your own base."

The Blitz Team got up to leave. Brad looked back and said, "By the way, when we fought today, I noticed that it seemed like your zoid had been hit pretty bad in the smoke cloud, but I didn't touch it, did I?"

Derrik smiled, "No, I placed explosive charges along the length of my Rev Raptor. When your shots grazed by, I detonated the charges. The force was meant to fling my zoid to the ground, giving you the impression that you hit me. I counted on you coming in close for a coup de grace."

Brad turned and left without another word. Derrik watched them go, "Good luck Blitz Team, I wish you luck, and the only certain thing about the future is its uncertainty."

At the headquarters for Stroma's legitimate business, the head of the Backdraft Group was making plans for his next move. "We have made a good start, but it is time to show our enemies the meaning of fear," he muttered.


	6. Chapter 6

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 6**

Disclaimer: We all know the drill by now.

Following their loss at the hands of Derrik Fay, the Blitz Team had been knocked back a couple ranks within Class S. Now, they made up for their loss with another string of victories.

The buzzer went off as the Liger skidded to a stop and the judge announced yet another victory for the Blitz Team.

"Alright, nobody can stop us!" exclaimed Leena.

"Can't wait to get my prize money," said Brad.

"I wonder how much longer until we face Derrik again," said Bit quietly. Leena, who had been whooping up to that point, fell uncharacteristically silent at the mention of Derrik. They all felt the loss at his hands keenly.

Dr. Toros watched his team from the hover cargo. When they entered the hover cargo, he saw how weary and tired they looked. Then he formulated a plan.

When the team was assembled on the hover cargo, Dr. Toros made his announcement. "I've decided that we need a vacation team."

"A vacation?" said Bit.

"Yes, let me explain," said Dr. Toros. His face became more serious than it usually did. "When we fought Derrik, we experienced our first loss since our battle against the Lightening Team. When I look at it now, you've started expecting too much from yourselves as a result of all our victories. You know go into every battle with the expectation that you should emerge victorious. We need a vacation so that you can go back to viewing zoid battles with a more light hearted point of view."

Jamie was bewildered by the change in the normally happy, go lucky, doctor, but he saw the logic in Dr. Toros's conclusions.

"Alright, lets take a vacation!" exclaimed Bit.

The ocean was not far from where the Blitz Team had their last battle. Though the Blitz Team did not head there, someone else did. Derrik Fay stood alone on the bridge of his custom zoid transport vehicle.

His transport was the greatshark, a custom airborne transport similar in many aspects to a whale king. However, the Greatshark was much larger, dwarfing even Dr. Leon's great whale king. It was armed with hundreds of weapons. The primary armaments included four cannons that served as the main weapons of an Ultrasaurus. Hundreds of smaller turrets, and hundreds of missile tubes that ran up and down along the greatshark's length supplemented these cannons.

Inside the greatshark, there was room for hundreds of zoids. In reality, the greatshark could carry only about four zoids. The rest of the room on the greatshark was taken up by repair facilities that exceeded the finest maintenance shops on Planet Zi.

The greatshark cruised along the surface of the ocean. Four miles from the coast, the greatshark submerged itself underwater. As it went along, a rocky spire came into view. Integrated into the structure of the spire was a fully functional underwater base.

Derrik smiled, this was his private retreat. It was a place where he could begin his work in privacy. He had told the Blitz Team about his intentions to create another Ultimate X. After years of study, Derrik was eager to build one that would suit him perfectly.

The team's choice of a vacation spot was perfect a small mountain retreat where they could just relax and chill out. At the retreat, they had hot tubs, water sports in a nearby lake, hoverskiing, sight seeing, and several other activities. Brad decided to enjoy the hot tub while Leena cruised around the lake on a Jet Ski. Jamie relaxed in the lounge while Dr. Toros was on the hover cargo playing with his zoid models. Bit was taking a look around at the beautiful scenery.

Bit was on a mountain trail when he saw a flash of movement through his peripheral vision. His head snapped to the right but he saw nothing more. He felt rather than saw something moving behind him, but he saw nothing when he turned around. There was a rustling noise coming from the foliage on his left. It stopped when he looked in that direction. "This is really starting to creep me out," he said quietly.

He heard a particularly heavy footstep as something stepped out onto the path in front of him. Bit started when he noticed it. The thing, for that was the best name he could give it, looked almost like a miniature zoid. Its skin was a dark shade of brown. It walked on two legs with three-toed clawed feet and had a pair of shorter arms. The arms ended in three-fingered hands with wicked looking claws. It's tail was half again as long as long as its body. There were creases, almost like the joints of an exoskeleton. Its head was saurian with a moth lined with sharp teeth. At the back of the head, three horn-like projections sloped backwards. The thing was about nine feet tall, easily looking down at Bit.

Bit and the thing stared at one another. Bit realized that the thing, whatever it was, might not like his presence there and decided to back away. As soon as he took a step back, a low snarl escaped from the thing's mouth. It took a step towards him. Bit realized it would attack whether he retreated or not. He was about to turn around an run when he heard the unmistakable sound of someone calling his name.

"Bit?" Leena came around the bend of the trail, "It's time for lunch, huh." She spotted the thing. "What the heck is that?"

Bit was about to warn her that the thing didn't look very friendly when it charged. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, the thing took Bit completely by surprise. Hearing its advance Bit turned around, only to take a head but in the stomach.

The air whooshed out of Bit's lungs as he was knocked flat on his back. The thing lifted a three-clawed foot and tried to bring it down on Bit's chest. Bit rolled to the side and felt a breeze as the foot left an impression where he had been laying only moments ago. The tooth-lined maw came at Bit's head.

Something long and heavy smashed into the thing's head, sending it reeling to one side. Bit looked up to see Leena brandishing a tree branch. Bit rolled out of her way and began to get to his feet.

The thing lunged for Leena. She swung the tree branch only to find it yanked out of her grip by the thing's jaws. The thing lunged again and Leena stumbled backwards as the thing's jaws snapped inches from her midsection. She tripped over a tree root and landed on her back. The thing lifted a foot to stomp on her chest as it tried with Bit. Its foot came down.

"Chaos, enough," demanded a commanding voice. The thing's foot halted an inch from Leena's chest, then pulled back as it took a step back from Leena. A young man, about Bit's age came out and stood next to the thing. "So you two are from the Blitz Team," he sneered.

"That's right," growled Bit, getting to his feet, "And who are you?"

"My name is Garret though you might not remember me, you were a little too occupied with a certain charged particle cannon to ask my name," his smile was amused.

"You're with the Backdraft Group!" yelled Leena. She looked like she was about to charge him when the thing at his side growled warningly and she thought better of it.

"What is that thing?" asked Bit.

"This is and Organoid, a true Organoid," said Garret, "And his name is Chaos."

"So that's your secret weapon," said Bit.

"Yes, indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other business to conduct besides dealing with a pair of second-rate warriors."

"Let me remind you that these second-rate warriors just kicked your…"  
"But it has been enjoyable I have to admit," he said, cutting Bit off. "We'll meet again Bit Cloud, and when we do, neither you nor your Liger 0 will be able to defeat me." Without another word, he jumped onto Chaos's back. Concealed jet engines fired, sending the Organoid shooting into the sky like a rocket.

"Well that was interesting," said Leena, realizing that her mouth had gone dry.

"You okay?" asked Bit.

"Yeah, I'll be alright, though I think we should tell the others."

"Yeah let's go."

In his undersea base, Derrik watched with enjoyment as the Organoid that would become a permanent part of the zoid he was creating grew before his eyes. The Organoid was grown as a part of the zoid core to enhance the connection.

He went to the manufacturing line to see if the components for his zoid were near completion. Everything was going according to plan. He hoped that the zoid spawned by this genesis would respond to him. The process had been set in motion. All that was left now was to wait.

Following the vacation, the Blitz Team immediately received information on their next battle. "Well, what do you know; our next opponent is the Redfire Team," said Dr. Toros.  
"Wasn't that the team we were supposed to fight when the Backdraft took over our battle?" asked Jamie.

"Yep," said Bit.

"Well, lets go out and win," said Brad.

At the battlefield, the two teams met. The judge landed and did his spiel and the battle started. The Redfire Team consisted of an Iron Kong PT type, a Redhorn, and a Gun Tiger.

Bit used the Schnider for this battle. He charged through the Iron Kong's fire, administering a prompt Buster Slash. Leena used her Weasel Unit's Total Assault to take out the Gun Tiger, which had tried to escape into the air, and the Shadowfox easily downed the Redhorn with his Strike Laser Claw.

"Well, that was fast," said Bit in surprise.

"That vacation was just what the doctor ordered," said Brad.

"No kidding," said Leena.

In his undersea base, Derrik looked approvingly on the fruits of his labors. The zoid was hidden by the shadows of the hangar, but Derrik knew it well. He felt a presence, not unlike that of an eager child brushing the edge of his mind. Soon," he said, "Soon you will show the world your unlimited potential my great zoid," he paused before saying the zoid's name for the first time, "My Raptorus."


	7. Chapter 7

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 7**

Disclaimer: I do not own zoids etc, etc.

"Ahh!" came a cry from Sebastian as his Iron Kong went down. Brad's Shadowfox bounded away, searching for another target. A little farther over, Benjamin's Iron Kong was almost completely blown to pieces by Leena's Gunsniper.

"Buster Slash!" cried Bit as the Shnider's laser blades carved up Harry's Iron Kong like a side of beef. The buzzer sounded and the judge handed the battle to the Blitz Team.

"You should wait until you can make it into Class S yourselves before you think to challenge us," said Brad.

"Face it, the day you guys make it into Class S will be a sad day indeed," said Leena.

"And now for that prize money," said Bit.

"Ohhh, just you wait Leena, I'll prove myself to be worthy of your love. Just you wait," groaned Harry.

"Yeah, whatever," said Leena as she idly filed one of her fingernails.

On another battlefield, an even tougher team than the Champ Team was in equally desperate straits. Unlike the Champ Team, this team was a Class S team, and so was their opponent.

Known as the Seeker Team, they specialized in fighting in broken terrain. The Team's roster included a Konig Wolf, a Saber Tiger, a Dibison, and a Gunsniper. Their strategy had served them well. At this point however, they had never lost so quickly and decisively. Their Konig Wolf had just gone out to scout the area when their opponent struck. The Konig Wolf, then separated from its teammates, was taken down so fast that the pilot never saw the zoid that hit him.

With their recon zoid out of commission, the rest of the team had no way to locate their opponent. The team leader had finally settled on sending out the Gunsniper to reconnoiter the area. No sooner had they settled on the decision, then their opponent was among them like a fox among day-old chickens. A single slash from a powerful claw weapon put the Gunsniper out of commission, followed by a second slash that took two legs off the Dibison. Finally, a third slash disabled the Saber Tiger. The battle was over before the Seeker Team had fired a single shot.

Even before the judge announced victory, the zoid darted away, its type and physical appearance a mystery. Nobody saw what the zoid looked like. On the edge of the battlefield, the zoid boarded an enormous transport vehicle. Once he arrived on the bridge of his greatshark, Derrik Fay smiled, "Our success is complete."

At the Toros Base, Brad reclined on a couch in the team lounge. Bit had fled the base moments earlier with Leena's Gunsniper in close pursuit. Bit had stolen Leena's cookie or donut or something. It hardly mattered.

He sighed, half in self satisfaction at the easy living he and the rest of the team had secured from their victories in Class S, and half in annoyance at Bit and Leena for their childlike antics, and Dr. Toros whom they had cracked down on to keep him from spending their money on useless parts. It had been difficult. The first thing they did was relocate their entire savings account into another account and kept the entire set of access codes from the Doc. If he couldn't get at their money, he couldn't waste it.

Bit was in trouble. Leena's Gunsniper was managing to keep up with the Liger 0. "It was just a cookie," he mumbled, knowing that remark wouldn't work on Leena. He was about to reach over and activate the Liger 0's ion booster to gain some distance when a low vibration came from the ground and up the Liger's legs.

The Liger ground to a halt with the Gunsniper nearly slamming into its rear end. The shadow of an enormous, low-flying transport passed over them. The transport stopped, turned around and landed in front of Bit and Leena.

Bit's first thought was that the transport was an exceptionally large whale king, but a closer look proved him wrong. The transport was built more along the lines of a shark than a whale. He found himself starring at the array of weapons that the thing had, especially the very large ones. Leena also starred, her cookie forgotten for the moment.

The transport's mouth opened (it is based on a shark after all, so the forward most hatch is a mouth) and a single man stepped down the ramp. Bit recognized it as none other than Derrik Fay. He opened the Liger's cockpit and jumped to the ground. "Hi Derrik, what do you want?" he inquired.

"I figured you would be taking the Liger 0 out for a…" he hesitated, looking at Leena's Gunsniper, "Run." His smile was amused. "I have come to challenge the Blitz Team to a battle."

"Why?" asked Leena, coming up behind Bit.

"I believe that you will offer the challenge I need for my purposes," said Derrik. "Whether you win or loose, I will help with the repairs for your zoids, and should you win, the prize money is five times the Class S standard."

"Wow," said Leena appreciatively, "You're that eager to battle us."

"Yep, so do you accept?"

"You can count on it," answered Bit.

"Thank you," said Derrik, "I will certainly look forward to this battle."

"What!?" exclaimed Jamie, "Doesn't anyone around here take into consideration the rest of the team? You can't just go accepting any battle that comes your way!"

"Take it easy Jamie," said Brad, "Just think of that prize money."

"If you recall, we lost the last time we fought Derrik," replied Jamie.

"We'll just have to win this time," said Bit, "What's the problem Jamie, I don't see why your so anxious if we loose."

"Well, one thing that has me anxious is that Derrik has changed his zoid," said Jamie.

"So, just pull up the specifications for his new zoid," said Brad.

"I can't, he didn't want the specifications released to the public."

"What?" exclaimed Leena, "I thought that all data with regards to a team's zoids had to be made public."

"That's the thing about Class S. Class S members can request for the Zoid Battle Commision to keep the data from being made public." Jamie paused, then continued, "The only information about this zoid I have is its name," he hesitated, "The Raptorus."

The battle was scheduled for two days later, so the Blitz Team took their zoids into town for a final checkup to make sure they were in top shape for the battle. While Bit wandered around the recreation area, waiting for the checkup to be done, he spotted a very familiar face.

"Hey!" he yelled seeing someone he recognized, "Vega!"

The person he was shouting at, a boy of fourteen turned and saw him. A smile sprang to his face. "Bit!" he shouted back. He came up to Bit and shook his hand, laughing.

"I haven't seen you in a while Vega, whatcha been doing?" asked Bit.

Vega's smile became a frown, "I haven't been able to do anything. Since Sarah and I left the Backdraft Group, we didn't have the money to repair my zoid. We can't even pay the registration fees for the Zoid Battle Commission."

Bit felt slightly guilty. Vega Obscura had been a prominent member of the Backdraft Group. Known far and wide as the King of Unsanctioned Battles, Vega was fairly famous. For a boy his age, he proved to be a master at zoid combat, with an uncanny ability to predict his opponent's next move. He was later introduced to the Berserk Fury, the only other Ultimate X in existence at the time. Behind the controls of the Berserk Fury, Vega was more than strong, he was unstoppable. He brought the Fury to the Royal Cup. In a final showdown with the Liger 0, the Berserk Fury had been totaled. Bit didn't realize how much trouble he had caused Vega.

Seemingly reading his mind, Vega said, "It's not your fault. After all, the purpose of a zoid battle is to take out your opponent. We'll find a way to pay for the Fury and the registration." He smiled again, "It's good to see you. You have to tell me all about what it's like in Class S.

Bit was more than happy to get the subject of Vega's financial problems off his mind. He explained in detail the battles they had fought in Class S. Vega listened eagerly. Vega secretly wished that he could be in Class S too, with other warriors who could challenge him.

Neither of them knew they were watched by a set of friendly, sympathetic eyes. Derrik Fay watched Vega closely. The boy showed incredible potential as a zoid pilot. Always the careful observer, he had been only too happy to watch Vega in battle. In fact, Vega reminded Derrik of himself when he was just starting out as a zoid pilot.

"Bit," called Leena, "It's time to go."

"See ya Vega," said Bit, "Good luck repairing the Fury. You know, you can always ask us for help."

"I'd like to do this for myself," said Vega, "But thanks anyway."

Bit was about to try to offer help again when Leena called his name again. He sighed and said goodbye to Vega before going off to find the others.

The next day, the Blitz Team arrived on the battlefield. While the hover cargo was en route, Jamie went over the information he had on the Raptorus, gleaned from previous battles.

"Apparently, the Raptorus strikes fast and hits hard," said Jamie, "According to what I've heard, no one has ever managed to get a good look at the zoid because it moves so fast."

"Then' I'll just use Jager's speed to catch it," said Bit.

"Don't get too cocky Bit," warned Brad, "We have no idea what this zoid can do so stay on your toes."

At the battlefield, the Gunsniper and Shadowfox were mobilized. Bit switched to the Jager armor and mobilized as well. The judge dropped in and began the battle. "The area within a thirty mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield, only competitors and personnel have authorization. Danger! All others must leave at once. Area scanned. Battlefield setup. The Blitz Team versus the Raptorus Team. Battle mode 0993. Ready…Fight!"

"Looks like the enemy is 30 miles away," said Jamie.

"Alright," said Bit, "You guys cover me and I'll go in."

"Roger that," said Brad.

"Gotcha," said Leena.

The Liger 0 surged into motion. The Jager bounded across the battlefield. The Shadowfox and Gunsniper also broke into a run but the Jager quickly outdistanced them. After about a minute of running, Bit spotted his opponent. It was alone and waiting for him.

Bit's eyes widened. The Raptorus was unlike any zoid he had ever seen. It was indeed built in the same configuration as a Rev Raptor, but it was also very different. It had the same raptor shape. It stood on two legs, each with three toes and an extra large claw on the inside toe which was raised away from the ground. The zoid's arms were long and slender, with three long and dexterous fingers, each tipped with a fair sized claw of its own. The zoid's configuration was horizontal, the Raptorus's head mounted on a neck bent to form an S-curve. The body was counterbalanced by a long but stiff tail.

The Raptorus looked less like a zoid and more like a living creature. There were no angles, or straight lines on its body. Instead of typical zoid joints, the Raptorus's joints were almost invisible except where limbs bent such as at the knee, elbow, or wrist. The exterior covering looked even less like a zoid. Instead, it looked like somebody had taken a real velociraptor and stripped the skin off, revealing underlying layers of musculature. The Raptorus was as much a piece of art as it was a zoid.

"Alright Liger," said Bit, "Lets hit him hard."

The Liger roared into agreement and accelerated towards the Raptorus. The Raptorus continued to stay where it was. The Liger's claws began to glow. "Strike Laser Claw!" shouted Bit. The Jager jumped into the air to administer the slash.

The Liger 0's claws cleaved through thin air. The Raptorus had deftly sidestepped the Liger 0's attack. The Liger wheeled about to attack the Raptorus but the Raptorus was no longer there. On two legs it was sprinting in the direction of the others.

"You're not getting away that easily," said Bit. He fired the Jager's Ion Boosters and gave chase. The Liger quickly gained ground it had lost during the Raptorus's head start. It was almost right behind the Raptorus when the Raptorus also accelerated, matching the Jager's speed perfectly. Bit saw the Gunsniper and Shadowfox coming up.

Both Leena and Brad skidded to a halt while they tried to target the red and gray blur that was the Raptorus. The Raptorus darted between them so fast that neither of them had pulled the trigger yet. Bit followed the Raptorus.

The Liger began to slow down. Bit realized that the Ion Boosters had been overused. He shut them down and tried to keep up with the Raptorus. The Raptorus amazed Bit. Not only had it matched the Jager's speed without using any kind of jet booster, but because it didn't use a jet booster of some sort, it could run at that speed indefinitely. The Raptorus slowed down to a stop a mile away.

It turned around and faced Bit. Derrik's face came up on the communication's screen. "So, what do you think of my new zoid?" asked Derrik.

"Its incredible," replied Bit, "I've never seen anything like it."

"I'm glad you like it Bit," he said with a smile. "Now I'll finish you off with the Raptorus's most powerful attack."

The Raptorus's hind claws began to glow with laser energy. The Liger 0 roared. "You're right partner, lets get him!" said Bit.

The Liger charged forward, its own claws glowing with an energy attack. The Raptorus opened its mouth and a high-pitched roar escaped. The zoid charged towards the Liger 0. Both zoids leapt into the air. The Liger raised one claw to strike while the Raptorus reared back in midair to deliver a kick with the energy charged claws.

"Strike Laser Claw!" shouted Bit as the Liger's claws flashed towards the Raptorus.

"Stike Sickle Claw!" roared Derrik at the top of his lungs as the Raptorus suddenly cut loose with all four sets of claws.

Bit completely lost sight of the Raptorus as it became a whirling blur. At one point he thought he had hit something, but he wasn't sure. The two zoids landed facing away one another. The Liger 0 hit the ground extra hard, bounced, and landed on one side. The Raptorus landed on its feet, skidded forward a little ways, and stopped.

Both zoids turned to face one another. "What do you think partner, should we try to hit him again?" The Liger didn't respond. "Liger, are you okay?" Bit asked. The Liger shook its head. Suddenly, Bit saw a piece of the Jager armor fall away, then another, then another, until the entire Jager armor system had fallen off the Liger 0, leaving the stripped down and vulnerable zoid underneath intact.

On the hover cargo, Jamie and Dr. Toros stared in wide-eyed amazement at what they had just seen. "The Raptorus pealed the Jager like an orange!" exclaimed Jamie.

"Worse than loosing the Jager armor, the Liger is out there without weapons, Bit's helpless," said Dr. Toros sadly.

"Run Liger!" Bit yelled. The Liger 0 turned and headed for the hover cargo. To Bit's surprise the Raptorus did not give pursuit. Instead it turned to face the Shadowfox and Gunsniper as they charged in, weapons blazing.

The Liger entered the back of the hover cargo. "What armor should we try partner?" asked Bit. His answer came on the screen. "You want to use the Shnider armor? Okay, whatever you say Liger."

Outside, the Raptorus danced in circles around the Shadowfox and Gunsniper. "Man, I can't shoot him if he doesn't stay in one place," lamented Leena.

"Let's try something new Fox," said Brad. The Shadowfox bounded at the Raptorus, its claws glowing. "Strike Laser Claw!" shouted Brad. The Shadowfox slashed at the Raptorus but the zoid easily avoided the glowing claws. It turned and ran at Leena.

"Get away from me!" cried Leena, firing the Gunsniper's entire arsenal at once. The Raptorus leapt into the air and came down with its claws set to attack.

"Strike Sickle Claw!" cried Derrik. The Raptorus hit with one foot, then the other, and started dancing on the Gunsniper's back. The Gunsniper suffered enormous damage from the large claws, which ripped through the Gunsniper's light armor like tissue paper. When the Raptorus landed, the Gunsniper collapsed.

The Shadowfox opened up with its Vulcan laser gun again, but the Raptorus dodged to one side and slipped past the Shadowfox's defenses. It rushed by on one side, scraping its foreclaws (which also had laser generators) along the Shadowfox's side. The Shadowfox collapsed as well.

At that moment the Liger 0, with Shnider armor attached, launched from the hover cargo. Five blades extended around the Shnider's head as it charged the Raptorus.

"Buster Slash!" cried Bit as the Schnider bore down on the Raptorus. The Raptorus responded by jumping, straight up. The Liger charged by underneath. In one smooth movement, the Raptorus landed and wheeled around in pursuit of the Schnider. It caught up easily.

As the two zoids ran side by side, Bit extended the Schnider's side blades. The Schnider lunged left towards the Raptorus. The Raptorus leapt up and over to the Schnider's right, but Bit changed the direction of his lunge and Derrik found the Shnider's blade underneath him.

Always the clever one, Derrik charged the Raptorus's claws with energy to counter the energy of the Shnider's laser blades. The Raptorus bounced off the laser blade and back over to the Liger's right. Then Derrik accelerated, the Raptorus easily outdistancing the Shnider.

Something came up on the Liger's status screen. "Huh?" said Bit, "Seven Blades Attack?" He remembered the attack well, it had been powerful enough to take down Leon's Red Blade Liger. "Alright, lets do it."

The Schnider's side blades snapped into a forward configuration, along with the five blades of the Buster Slash. All seven began to glow. As the Schnider ran, it became enclosed by an envelope of energy created by the blades. The Schnider looked like a comet.

Up ahead, the Raptorus stopped and turned. "That looks like a powerful attack," commented Derrik, "Do you think we should test it partner?" The Raptorus signaled its agreement with an almost bird-like sound. It then ran towards the Schnider, its hind claws glowing.

"Seven Blades Attack!" cried Bit as the Schnider rushed onward towards its target.

"Strike Sickle Claw!" roared Derik as the Raptorus rushed to meet the challenge.

The two zoids crossed in midair and then landed facing away from one another. Bit almost thought he had won when he saw the top-right blade of the Shnider's head, accompanied by the Schnider's right-side blade, come whistling down, landing point first in the ground beside the Liger.

"Uh oh," said Bit. He turned the Liger 0 around to face the Raptorus's inevitable counterattack. To his surprise, the Raptorus was also just turning around. It faced him, then collapsed. Bit saw the glowing line of that his Seven Blades Attack had traced along the length of the Raptorus. "Whew, that was close Liger." The Liger 0 roared in agreement.

"The battle is over. The battle is over," announced the judge, "The winner is…the Blitz Team."

In the Shell Team Base, and bases belonging to other Class S teams, warriors stared in amazement. No one had ever bested Derrik Fay in combat. His new zoid had been sure to make victory over him impossible, and yet the Blitz Team, the newest Class S team, had beaten him.

Back at the Toros Base, the Blitz Team and Derrik were in the lounge, sharing dinner and conversation. The repair facilities on Derrik's greatshark transport rivaled those of the finest hired repair facilities on Planet Zi.

"Have you ever lost before?" asked Jamie, curious to know.

"Yes," replied Derrik, "I would not have gotten this far without losing."

"Now that we've won," said Bit, "I wonder what else is waiting for us beyond Class S."

"Don't get so eager to move up to Class T," said Derrik. "It will be a while yet. The next advancement tournament isn't scheduled until next year."

"Advancement tournament?" asked Brad, intrigued.

"The only way to move up to Class T or any higher class is to win that class's advancement tournament. The tournament is held annually. However, with the Royal Cup having just been held, all advancement tournaments don't occur until a year after the Royal Cup."

"How many classes are there beyond Class S?" asked Leena.

"Several, they go from Class S all the way to Class Z."

"Class Z?" asked Leena.

"The cream of the crop as far as zoid battling goes. Of course, there are so many classes between Class S and Class Z that a zoid pilot would grow old winning enough advancement tournaments trying to get there. So, once every ten years, they hold a special Supreme Tournament. The Tournament competitors face off in a giant battle royal. The last team with at least one zoid intact wins and automatically goes up to Class Z."

"How do we enter the tournament?" asked Bit.

"You've a couple years yet, but all teams Class S and above are eligible for the Supreme Tournament."

"Alright we'll be ready," said Bit.

Derrik stood up, "And now, it is time for me to take my leave. I have much to do and I need to get some sleep. Bit, Leena, Brad, Jamie, Dr. Toros, it has been a pleasure. Thank you for having me over for dinner."

"No problem," said Leena, "It's the least we can do to pay you back for repairing our zoids."

Derrik said thanks once again and left. Bit went to a window and watched the greatshark take off. "I wonder what he means by having much to do?"

Leena rested a hand on his shoulder, "We'll probably find out soon enough," she replied.

On the greatshark, Derrik reflected on what he was about to do. Throughout his entire zoid battle career, he had been a solo battler, and now he was about to assemble a team. No matter, it would be easy, he had his team picked out already.


	8. Chapter 8

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 8**

Disclaimer: I don't own zoids blah blah blah.

Stroma watched with interest the Blitz Team's victory over Derrik and the Raptorus. Such wonderful warriors would be powerful assets to the Backdraft Group. He knew they would never join him however, and he didn't want to eliminate the competition for his pilots.

He never heard Garret approach. "You have news for us sir?" asked Garret. To his credit, Stroma was not startled. He had grown quite used to Garret sneaking up on him.

"Yes, tell the others to meet me in hangar three," said Stroma, "I have a gift for them."

"Yes sir," Garret answered and left.

An hour later Garret, Jeremy, and Daniel met Stroma in the hangar. Stroma snapped his fingers and the lights came on. The three pilots turned as one to face the zoids in the hangar. Jeremy was the first to speak, "Unreal."

"Incredible!" exclaimed Daniel.

The hangar contained two zoids. The first was a saurian zoid with an elongated snout. On its shoulders were mounted powerful guns. An array of spines stood up along its back. The second was a scorpion type zoid. It was armed to the teeth with razor-sharp pincers and powerful guns.

"A Dark Spiner and Death Stinger," said Garret, smiling.

"How did you get these zoids sir?" asked Jeremy.

"I have my resources, as you know," replied Stroma. "I would be more than happy to give you each one of these zoids, but Garret gets first pick."

"I will remain with the Genosaurer," said Garret.

"Why, both the Death Stinger and Dark Spiner are more powerful?" asked Jeremy.

"I have my reasons," replied Garret. "I'll keep the Genosaurer, on one condition, I will use Chaos from now on."

"You want to use the Organoid?" asked Stroma, "Why? Wouldn't he serve you better in the Dark Spiner or Death Stinger?"

"I have my reasons," was Garret's only reply.

"Very well," said Stroma, "It is now up to Jeremy and Daniel who gets what zoid, choose well." He turned and left, leaving the Strike Team to get familiar with their new zoids.

Vega sat in the darkness of his hangar, looking forlornly at the wreck that had been the Berserk Fury. The Fury was far from beyond repair, but without the Backdraft Group's funding, he just couldn't afford to buy repairs for the Fury.

He heard footsteps coming up behind him. He turned to see a tall beautiful woman coming up behind him. Her name was Sarah. She had been Vega's chaperone during his time with the Backdraft Group. After they had left, she had officially adopted him and was now his mother.

"We'll find a way to repair the Fury, Vega," she said, resting a hand on Vega's shoulder.

"I know mom," he replied, "I wonder how we're going to do it though."

"You could always take Bit Cloud up on his offer," said a voice from the entrance of the hangar. "The Blitz Team is no longer lacking for funds."

"Who's there?" asked Sarah.

"What's your name?" asked Vega.

"Or," the voice paused, "You could take me up on the offer I am about to make."

"What offer?" asked Vega.

Derrik Fay walked up to Vega. "I have taken an interest in you. I would like to form a team. You see, I have tired of solo battling, it will be nice to have someone on the team with me."

"And you want me to join your team?" asked Vega.

"Yes, I will handle the repair costs for the Berserk Fury and you will fight alongside me in zoid battles."

"Who else is on this team?" inquired Vega.

"You are the first person I have asked," said Derrik, "So, do I get an answer today."

Vega considered the offer for a moment. "I accept," he replied.

Stoler looked at the Elephander. It had been his pride and joy. Ever since he had left the Backdraft Group, his sole purpose had been to fight and defeat Bit Cloud. However, after fighting Bit, the Liger 0 proving to be the more powerful of the two zoids, Stoler was unsure of what to do now. Zanders, his only companion had faithfully remained by his side since Stoler left.

As Stoler thought about the past, his mind wandered back to the early days, when he had been the finest zoid warrior in the Republic. His mind wandered through his glory days to the time when he joined the Backdraft Group and participated in the design and construction of the mighty Elephander.

As he thought about the past, the present intruded. The hangar walls were vibrating. Stoler knew it as the unmistakable sound of an airborne transport landing outside. Stoler rushed out and was joined by Zanders. Together they watched the enormous transport, which resembled a shark, land in front of them. The forward hatch, or mouth, opened and someone whom Stoler knew well walked out.

"Derrik!" he exclaimed. Derrik and Stoler were actually old friends. When Stoler had been a young boy, Derrik was already a full-grown man. Derrik's age exceeded Stoler's by a decade at least, and yet he didn't look a day under twenty-five.

"Stigma Stoler, how good to see you my old friend," said Derrik.

"What did you come here for?" asked Stoler, "I don't think you just decided to drop by and say hello."

"You're correct, as always," replied Derrik. "I have actually come here to ask you to join my team."

"You, forming a team?"

"That's right."

"And you want me to join you?"

"Yes."

"What do you have to offer?" inquired Stoler, intrigued.

"Since I am in Class S, you will have the opportunity to fight Bit Cloud once again," said Derrik.

A smile crossed Stoler's face, "In that case, I accept."

"Good news team," said Dr. Toros, "I've received information regarding our next battle."

"Who's our opponent?" asked Bit.

"It's the Seeker Team," said Jamie, "The coordinates of the battle are at 07765."

Dr. Toros called up a map and whistled, "That's fairly uneven terrain. There are lots of canyons, mountains, and other obstructions. It's like a giant maze."

"Perfect for stealth zoids," said Brad.

"Actually the seeker team has several heavy artillery zoids," said Jamie, "The only zoid with any stealth capability is the Konig Wolf."

"A Konig Wolf," said Brad, "This should be a walk in the park."

"Yeah, heavy artillery zoids are at a disadvantage when it comes to broken terrain, with all those obstructions, they won't be able to fire until we hit 'em."

"I'm not so sure," said Jamie, "The Seeker Team didn't make it into Class S without some sort of way to overcome broken terrain."

"We'll find out when the battle commences tomorrow," said Dr. Toros.

The next day, the team arrived at the coordinates of the battlefield. The judge landed somewhere in the convoluted system of canyons and began the battle. Following the judge's announcement of the battle, Bit, Leena, and Brad rushed into the cover of the canyons.

"Alright lets be careful," said Brad, "If we run into them here, we don't want to be taken by surprise."

The three zoids slowed down to a careful walk. They soon came upon a junction. Brad had been watching the canyon walls, they had too many ledges that could easily be exploited by an enterprising sniper.

"Which way should we go?" asked Bit, "Left or right?"

"My sensors are picking up a signal to the right," said Brad. His Shadowfox's sensors were powerful and could detect zoids with ease.

"Then lets go right," said Leena decisively.

"Wait a second Leena," said Bit, "We could be walking right into an ambush."

"Bit's right, we should think about this," agreed Brad.

Unknown to them, the Konig Wolf pilot had cleverly planted a decoy down on the right side and was carefully approaching them from the left side. The decoy would simulate the signal of a zoid. The Konig Wolf moved by jumping from one ledge to another. The pilot finally reached a point where he had line of sight to the Blitz Team's zoids. He radioed to the rest of his team, "I have them spotted, you want me to mark 'em out for ya?"

"Go ahead," replied the team leader.

Bit's sharp eyes spotted the Konig Wolf. "We've got company!" he exclaimed.

The Blitz Team moved down the left branch to engage the Konig Wolf. Bit and Brad ran side by side while Leena brought up the rear. "Looks like that Konig Wolf has its sensor array deployed," said Brad, referring to the long box-like projection that had dropped over the Konig Wolf's snout.

Leena's sensors blared a warning. "Incoming missiles!" she yelled.

"Where?" asked Bit. No sooner had the question escaped his mouth than the missiles came like a hailstorm. The Liger crouched to avoid the fire as best it could. Next to him the Shadowfox did the same. Leena found a sheltered alcove to protect her zoid from the fire.

The barrage soon ended. Bit looked up to see that the Konig Wolf had disappeared in the chaos. "Where'd the Konig Wolf go?" asked Bit.

"I'm willing to bet that it's waiting for us in another canyon farther down," said Brad. "I'm also willing to bet that wasn't a sensor array the Konig Wolf was using."

"What do you think it was using?" inquired Leena once she left her cover.

"I think that was a laser-targeting apparatus," said Brad. "The team must send him out to find the opposing team. He then uses the laser targeting apparatus to mark out the zoids so that the rest of his team can hit them from a distance."

"Oh I see," said Bit, "They use the Konig wolf as a spotter." He smirked, "Well, two can play at that game. Leena, I want you to come back to the hover cargo with me."

"What are you planning?" asked Brad.

"I'm going to switch to the Panzer armor. You're going to do what that Konig wolf just did and find our opponents. Then you'll guide our missiles in to take 'em out."

"The Shadowfox doesn't have a laser-targeting apparatus," said Brad.

"Just send us the coordinates of the opposing team when you find them, and we'll send the missiles in ballistic trajectory to that point," said Leena. She and Bit were already on their way back to the hover cargo.

"Okay then," said Brad to himself, "Lets do it Fox." The Shadowfox whined and took off down the canyon. The Shadowfox jumped, scaling the sheer walls of the canyon like they were level ground. It was soon bounding from ledge to ledge much the same way the Konig Wolf had been earlier.

Meanwhile, the Liger was transferring from its usual white armor to the dark green Panzer armor. Bit heard the Liger's frame groan as the heavy armor, hybrid cannons, and missile launchers were locked into place. The hover cargo's side panel opened and the Panzer's platform extended out over the side panel. The platform then slid back, dumping the Liger onto the ground. Bit felt the cockpit grow hot around him as the stabilizers immediately started to heat up slightly.

Meanwhile, Brad was having luck. He had finally found the Seeker Team's location and was about to relay the information to the others when the Shadowfox's sensors picked up a zoid coming at him from behind. The Shadowfox wheeled around to find the Konig wolf approaching on the same ledge.

"So, it's about time I found you," said the Konig Wolf pilot.

"You gonna mark me out for your friends' missiles?" asked Brad.

"Oh no, it's long past due that I got some points for myself. The dual-sniper rifle on the zoid's back fired. The Shadowfox ducked under the shots and charged the Konig Wolf. The Wolf sidestepped the Shadowfox's charge and started heading straight up the canyon wall, with the Shadowfox in hot pursuit.

The Shadowfox's Vulcan laser gun opened up, but the Konig Wolf scrambled over the top of the incline and out of Brad's line of fire. The Shadowfox was up on top not much later, but he found the Konig Wolf waiting for him, with the laser-targeting unit deployed. "I changed my mind," the pilot quipped. Brad easily spotted the missiles that were falling like a summer rainstorm. He leapt over the Konig Wolf and out of the laser's line.

The Konig Wolf quickly wheeled around and tried to target the Shadowfox for his teammates again. Instead, he was engulfed by the Shadowfox's smokescreen, which caused too much interference for the laser-targeting array to be of any use. The pilot tensed up, waiting for the attack he believed to be inevitable. But no attack came. When the smoke cleared, the Shadowfox had vanished.

The Shadowfox found a sheltered, secluded ledge from which he could watch the other team. He began to relay the coordinates back to his teammates. He noted the interesting configuration the other team's zoids had.

The team's Saber Tiger looked fairly standard, except it had a missile launcher and magazine in place of the regular back mounted cannon. The Gunsniper actually bore a resemblance to Leena's Gunsniper. The only difference was that this one had missile pods in every available space, including the space where Leena's gattling cannons would normally be. The team's Dibison also appeared to be geared towards missile assault. Instead of the normal array of seventeen cannons, the Dibison sported a large missile battery and an even larger magazine.

At the Blitz Team's end of the canyon, Leena and Bit received the targeting data from the Shadowfox. Bit and Leena fed the coordinates into the missiles' targeting program.

"Firing missiles," said Leena, all six missile launchers on the Gunsniper opened fire.

"Burning Bigbang!" shouted Bit. The Liger 0 Panzer was completely obscured in exhaust as literally hundreds of missiles fired from the Panzer's several launchers.

The Seeker Team soon found themselves subjected to their own strategy as missiles rained in. All three zoids were out of the battle in seconds. Only the Konig Wolf remained.

Satisfied that the opposing team's missile launching zoids had been neutralized, Brad began to hunt for the Konig Wolf. It wasn't long before he spotted the Konig Wolf doing some hunting of its own along the ledges of a canyon. The Shadowfox went up over the canyon rim and approached a point that positioned him directly above the Konig Wolf.

The first hint the enemy pilot had of trouble was when a thick, black cloud of smoke descended around him. The Konig Wolf spun in circles looking for the elusive attacker. The pilot then realized that the best way to fight his opponent was to leave the smoke cloud. But by then it was too late. The Shadowfox pounced on him. "Strike Laser Claw!" shouted Brad, his attack neatly defeating the Konig Wolf.

"The battle is over. The battle is over," said the judge. "The winner is…the Blitz Team."

"Oh yeah, we won!" cried Leena in trumph.

Bit smiled. "Good work partner," he told the Liger 0.

"Hmmm I just got an idea," said Dr. Toros.

"What's that?" inquired Jamie, getting the feeling that the good doctor was about to suggest they buy another useless part.

"We should get a laser-targeting array to equip the Shadowfox with. That strategy worked unbelievably well!" exclaimed Dr. Toros.

"That might not be such a bad idea," said Brad, who was also considering the strategy's stunning success. "We'll talk Doc."

A Redhorn collapsed as its companions disappeared in smoke and explosions. The judge nearby announced in a shrill voice, "The winner is…the Strike Team." The team that was the pride of the Backdraft Group had won yet another battle.

In the cockpit of his Genosaurer, Garret looked out over the battlefield. "Bit Cloud," he muttered under his breath, "We'll meet again, and next time you won't be so lucky." He looked down at the Genosaurer's control panel, where he looked at the status readouts. "How much more do you need Chaos? When will we be ready?" Silence greeted his inquiry.

On the greatshark, Stoler stood next to Derrik on the bridge. Derrik had been teaching Zanders how to fly the immense airborne transport. "Are we going back to the hangar then?" asked Stoler.

"No," replied Derrik, "There is one more member of the team we must recruit."

"And who would that be?" asked Sarah who had come on the bridge at that moment.

"She was also once a member of the Backdraft Group. She was their airborne specialist."

"Ah, you mean Pierce then," said Stoler.

"Yes, Pierce is the final member of the team. I have a special zoid for her," said Derrik.

"Her residence is directly below us," said Zanders.

"Good," stated Derrik, "Set us down."

In her humble home, Pierce felt the vibrations of the landing transport and went out to greet her visitors. When she stepped out of her front door, she was surprised to see more than a few familiar faces.

"Stoler, Sarah, Vega!" she exclaimed, "What brings you here?"

"We or more accurately I have come to make you an offer," said a dark haired man coming down the ramp behind them. Pierce quickly recognized him.

"You're Derrik Fay, the top warrior in Class S," she stated. "What have you to offer?"

"I have come to offer you a chance to join our team," said Derrik.

"I would love to accept that offer, but I sold the Storm Sworder that Dr. Leon designed for our unsanctioned battle. I have no zoid."

Derrik's smile broadened, "Do not worry about your lack of a zoid, for in the hold of this very transport, there is a zoid that I would very much like you to meet."

"You have my interest now," said Pierce, "Very well, I accept."

In the Strike Team hangar, Garret looked up at the Genosaurer that was his zoid. He then looked over at the brown Organoid that stood by his side. "When the time comes Chaos, you and I will be unstoppable."


	9. Chapter 9

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 9**

Disclaimer: I don't own zoids

Pierce looked at the marvelous zoid that was to be her own. "What is it?" she asked. The zoid was an airborne type. It was modeled (like most airborne typses) after a pterosaur. Its short beak was lined with teeth. Two short crests extended behind the head. Unlike most airborne types, it did not walk on just its two hind legs. The wings when folded moved downward, acting as a second pair of legs, in effect making the zoid a quadruped. The whole zoid was gray.

"This is the Rodan," replied Derrik. "It is the ultimate air combat zoid. It can easily exceed Mach 5 and can reach Mach 8 when pushed to its limits. Even at Mach 5 it maintains full maneuverability which is more than can be said about most airborne zoids when they fly at Mach 3. The Rodan's shockwave is its primary weapon. However, it is also armed with a micro-plasma cannon located in the mouth. The cannon has incredible range and excellent accuracy."

"It's beautiful," was all that Pierce could bring herself to say.

"Rodan is also an Ultimate X zoid," Derrik stated as if it were nothing special.

"An Ultimate X!" exclaimed Pierce. In response to her exclamation the Rodan let off an earsplitting shriek which echoed through the hangar in the belly of the greatshark.

"I made it in conjunction with the Raptorus, and figured that you might be its pilot of choice," said Derrik. Rodan voiced its agreement with another shriek. Pierce was surprised when she realized that she understood that Rodan was agreeing with Derrik.

"What did it say?" asked Derrik. He already knew what the answer would be from the stunned look on Pierce's face.

"It agreed with you," she stammered.

"An interesting thing about Organoids, Ultimate Xs in particular. They develop a rapport with their chosen pilot that allows the said pilot to determine the zoid's vocalizations," stated Derrik flatly.

"Who are we fighting?" asked Pierce.

"We'll see."

Derrik joined Zanders and Stoler on the bridge of the greatshark. Silently, he stared out the window into the clouds over which the transport was majestically sailing. Stoler looked over and said, "When I was a young boy, you were already twenty years easily. Now, looking at you, I realize that despite the time that has passed between then and now, that your parents are still alive."

Derrik smiled. "My parents are indeed alive, and well into their third century. I come from stock that weathers the storm of time well. You would be surprised Stoler, but you are from similar stock."

Stoler held his tongue, having nothing else to say. Zanders had listened in wide-eyed interest to Derrik's almost casual, if not amused, remark.

At the Toros Base, Jamie was in the computer room finalizing the order for the laser-targeting component that would be added to the Shadowfox. Following the extraordinary success of a strategy in the last battle, which called upon the Shadowfox to coordinate and target a long-range strike made by the Liger 0 Panzer and Leena's Gunsniper to hit the enemy team with unerring accuracy, Dr. Toros had made the suggestion, ratified by Brad, that they outfit a laser-targeting unit to the Shadowfox. The other team had been using an identical strategy and Bit had merely turned their strategy against them.

After he finalized the order for the component, he saw that there was a message from the Zoid Battle Commission. He quickly scanned the message and dashed from the computer room over to the lounge where the others were.

Brad lay on one of the couches while Leena sat across from him and Bit was in the kitchen making dinner. "We have our next opponent," Jamie announced.

"Well?" said Brad.

"We're up against the X Team," said Jamie.

"Haven't heard of that one before," said Brad.

"Must be newly formed from some other Class S team," said Leena.

"Any information about who's on the team?" asked Bit, coming in with dinner.

"Nope," said Jamie.

"When's the battle scheduled," asked Leena anxiously.

"Tomorrow."

"Good, it was getting dull around here," said Brad. He was right, the Blitz Team hadn't had a scheduled battle in two weeks (mostly because they had two consecutive battles against Harry who just refused to give up).

"The battle mode is 0982," said Jamie.

"That's weird," said Bit, "The normal battle mode for Class S is 0993."

"Well, that's what the information read," said Jamie.

"Who cares as long as we're racking up the points and prize money," said Leena.

"Good point," said Bit, "Lets get 'em."

The following day on the battlefield, the Blitz Team arrived. First, the forward most piece of the hover cargo lifted up. "Leena, mobilizing Gunsniper," Leena announced.

Next, the catapult opened and Brad was first up. "Brad here, all set to mobilize Shadowfox." The Shadowfox was launched from the catapult and landed next to the Gunsniper.

The Raynos went next, "Jamie, all mobilizing Raynos." The Raynos was launched into the air and came to a hover over Brad and Leena.

Finally, the Liger 0 came up. "Bit Cloud, ready to mobilize the Liger 0." The Liger too was launched and assembled next to the others. Bit looked around, confused. "Where's the other team?"

Leena's eyes widened. "You don't think the Backdraft is going to take over another battle do you?" she asked anxiously.

Suddenly, the sand a few kilometers in front of them began to sink into a large depression. From the depression a large dorsal fin emerged. It was followed by the rest of an enormous transport craft.

"That's the greatshark!" exclaimed Jamie.

The greatshark settled onto the ground and the lower part of the dorsal fin began to open. A launch track rose up in front of the opening, creating a curve that would carry a zoid over the main dorsal cannon.

A zoid appeared at the exit and stepped onto the ramp. "Derrik, ready to mobilize Raptorus." The Raptorus was launched into the air and ground to a stop in front of the Blitz Team.

A bottom hatch dropped down, releasing a very familiar zoid. "Stoler, mobilizing the Elaphender." The Elaphender slowly made its way to where the Raptorus stood.

Another zoid appeared at the head of the ramp. It was an airborne type. "Pierce, ready to mobilize Rodan." The Rodan launched and came to a hover over the other zoids of the X Team.

A third zoid that Bit knew all too well stepped onto the ramp. "Vega, mobilizing Berserk Fury." The Fury launched from the ramp and came to a rest next to the Raptorus. It let out a thunderous roar that was echoed by a screech from the Raptorus and a shriek from the Rodan.

The Liger roared back at them. Not too far away, smoke billowed as the judge capsule landed. "Area scanned. Battlefield setup. The Blitz Team versus the X Team. Battle mode 0982. Ready…Fight!"

Bit did not waste any time. The Liger 0 turned around and sprinted towards the hover cargo. Brad went for the Elaphander. Leena also went for the Elaphander. Inside the hover cargo, Bit switched to the Shnider armor.

Brad shifted his zoid from side to side, deftly dodging the Elaphander's fire. He saw that the shielding unit on the trunk had been replaced by the sixty-millimeter hyper laser gun. The Elaphander swung its trunk like a flexible club but the Shadowfox was quick enough to dodge the attack.

Underneath the leaping Shadowfox came a barrage of missiles that smashed into the front end of the Elaphander. Brad landed on the Elaphander's right and was about to press the attack when a shot from the Berserk Fury forced him to dodge yet again. Brad fired at the Fury but the shielding unit easily withstood the meager assault.

Leena continued to fire at the Elaphander, but the dorsal cannon returned fire as well as the ventral cannon. Leena was surprised at how well she dodged the shots, but was dismayed when she saw the Raptorus slowly, carefully making its way around to cover her flank. "Hurry up in there Bit, it's three against two out here."

Brad had his hands full with the Berserk Fury. In past battles the Fury had proved more than a match for the Shadowfox. Vega only made circumventing the Fury's abilities even harder. The Shadowfox crouched low as it ducked under one of the slashes of the Berserk Fury's Buster Claws. Brad dodged around behind the Berserk Fury, but had to jump as the Fury's tail slapped the ground where he had been. He tried firing from behind the Fury bur Vega ducked and dodged his shots.

The Raptorus carefully approached the Gunsniper from behind. Leena was well aware of its presence, but could do nothing about it untile she was able to deal with the Elaphander. That in and of itself would be nearly impossible.

Derrik was about to strike when the Liger 0 Shnider was launched from the hover cargo, its Buster Slash ready. Raptorus sidestepped the Liger 0's slash, but as soon as Liger touched the ground, it turned and fired its jets, changing direction instantly. Raptorus leapt over the charge, but Liger corrected with its jets again. Derrik realized he would not be able to stay ahead of the Shnider's blades forever.

Brad found he could not find any weakness in the Berserk Fury's defenses. He settled into a defense until he could figure out a way to effectively attack the Berserk Fury. As the Shadowfox evaded yet another set of shots from the Berserk Fury, Brad looked around to find some cover so that he might have time to think of a strategy. He spotted something better than cover.

The Elaphander deplyed its shield to protect itself from the Gunsniper's attacks. Leena sighed, frustrated that she could not penetrate the zoid's defenses. She knew that the Elaphander was vulnerable to attack from the rear, but it took a zoid with speed like the Shadowfox or Liger 0 to get around behind the zoid. The Elaphander would easily be able to compensate for the relatively slow Gunsniper.

Then, something happened that swung the battle in her favor. The Shadowfox leapt to avoid the shots fired by the Berserk Fury. The catch was that it leapt over the Elaphander, turning the Elaphander into the new target for the Berserk Fury.

The Elaphander was rocked by the shots and turned to respond to the new threat, in the process turning off its shields. Leena opened fire. The Elaphander had been able to withstand the misdirected shots of the Berserk Fury, was unable to stand against an all out assault from the Gunsniper. As the massive zoid collapsed, Leena breathed a sigh of relief. "And for once we did it without Bit."

Brad wasted no time. "Leena, start firing at the Berserk Fury."

Leena happily obliged. "Weasel Unit, Total Assault," she shouted as her Gunsniper cut loose with everything it had.

Vega opened the Fury's array blades that activated a shield unit. The Berserk Fury's shield unit, which could withstand the simultaneous blasts of three Genosaurer charged particle cannons, easily withstood the Gunsniper's barrage. However, it was not covered to attack from the rear.

The Shadowfox attacked from behind while Vega was occupied by the assault from in front. The Fury lost most of its mobility while its shields were activated. Vega didn't have a chance to dodge. One of Brad's shots pierced one of the arms that joined a set of the Berserk Fury's shielding array to the body. Its shield effectively disabled, the Gunsniper's barrage was able to punch through. Between the two of them, Leena and Brad wore down and disabled the Berserk Fury.

The Raptorus and Shnider continued to duel, the Raptorus only a fraction of a second ahead of the Shnider's laser blades, a margin that was closing with each attack. Derrik knew he had to buy himself some time, but it was difficult as the Shnider had apparently analyzed and learned from the Raptorus's moves.

Up in the sky, Jamie and Pierce were waging a battle of equal ferocity. The Rodan's body was much more flexible and allowed for even tighter turns and soon, Jamie (who had slipped into his Wild Eagle persona) found that the Rodan was tight on his tail.

Despite that, Jamie was able to dodge the blasts from the Rodan's micro-plasma cannon. He decided that the time had come to take the offensive. Following an attack by the Rodan, the Raynos used airbrakes to stop abruptly. Jamie then hauled up on the flight stick, causing the Raynos to turn 180-degrees onto its back, bringing the Rodan into the line of fire. Jamie pulled the trigger, sending green bolts of laser energy stabbing out at the Rodan.

The maneuver took Pierce by surprise and she reacted too late. Still, the Rodan's maneuverability allowed it to avoid all damage except a graze. Turning around, she accelerated away from the Raynos. The Raynos did not pursue, but flew in the opposite direction. Both pilots turned around and charged, each planning to use their sonic boom to defeat the other. Pierce thought she had the advantage. Traveling at Mach 8, the Rodan's sonic boom was substantially more powerful than the Raynos's. Jamie knew this as well. He also knew that because it was moving faster, the Rodan's sonic boom traveled much farther behind the Rodan, giving him a better chance to avoid it.

The two zoids passed one another. The Rodan flew right into the Raynos's sonic boom. The Raynos began to ascend beyond the influence of the Rodan's sonic boom, but being more powerful, the sonic boom was also much larger. The Raynos bucked as it was battered by the Rodan's sonic boom, but it escaped the brunt of the blast.

Pierce was sure that she had won when an explosion rocked the Rodan. Alarms went off inside the cockpit. Looking down, she realized that the Rodan's structural integrity had been compromised. The Rodan had just lost over fifty percent of its maneuverability. With the structure so compromised, she could not fly at full speed.

Something was wrong. The Rodan should have been able to weather such a meager attack with ease. Something had to have weakened the structure beforehand. Then it came to her; the graze. The graze had weakened the outer chassis enough that the Raynos's sonic boom cracked the Rodan like an egg. With the damage the Rodan had sustained, the Raynos now matched the Rodan.

Jamie slid in behind the Rodan. With her maneuverability cut, Pierce couldn't shake the skilled pilot. "This has been the most challenging dogfight I have ever experienced!" exclaimed Jamie. "Thank you and goodbye."

The Raynos's shot went straight through the rear of the Rodan. Pierce saw the power draining. The zoid crashed not far from the greatshark. Pierce looked at the screen that announced a command system freeze. She sighed and said, "Oh well, it's good to be back."

Meanwhile, the battle between the Raptorus and the Liger 0 was heating up. The Shnider swung its head like a double-bladed axe. The Raptorus dodged backwards and jumped back farther as the Shnider pressed the attack. Derrik would have dearly liked to turn around and put some distance between him and the Liger, but he and the Raptorus had no time to turn around. At the rate it was moving, the Liger would slice the legs out from under the Raptorus before Derrik could hit the gas.

Without warning, the Raptorus moved on its own accord. It charged the Shnider. As the Shnider lunged forward, the Raptorus planted its foot on the flat of the topmost blade of the Shnider's buster slash. The Raptorus's other foot left the ground and it pushed off with the foot on the Shnider's head. The result allowed the Raptorus to land behind the Liger 0 while driiving the Liger's head into the ground, buying time for Derrik to take a breather.

Derrik sighed in relief. "Good going partner," he said, "You just saved us." The Raptorus stopped some distance away. When it turned around, Derrik saw the Shnider gearing up for its most powerful attack, the Seven Blades Attack. Already, the blades were shining a bright blue that was soon replaced by burning orange. It charged forward.

The Raptorus surprised Derrik once again by charging at the Liger. "Don't you remember Raptorus?" yelled Derrik, "We can't meet the Shnider's Seven Blades Attack head on!" The Raptorus ignored him and continued to charge. "Okay partner," he whispered, "Whatever you say."

The two zoids were approaching. All four sets of the Raptorus's claws were starting to glow. They came closer. "Seven Blades Attack!" yelled Bit. The Liger roared.

The Raptorus waited until it had almost collided with the Shnider, then threw itself onto its back, all four claws pointed upward. The Shnider's underbelly was ripped to shreds by the Raptorus's claws. The Liger went a little farther on sheer momentum, then collapsed. "We did it," said Derrik.

His relief was short lived however. He saw a bright golden glow two the left. Before it even occurred to him, or the Raptorus, what was happening, the Shadowfox's claws ripped through the Raptorus's own underbelly. The Shadowfox was followed by a barrage from the Gunsniper. The Raptorus was disabled.

"The battle is over," announced the judge. "The winner is… the Blitz Team."

Leena took a second to think about what happened. "Alright!" she exclaimed, "We won!"

"And for once it wasn't Bit that won the battle," said Brad smugly.

"Very funny," said Bit.

Derrik reflected on the battle and said, "Either way you think about it, we lost."

In the living room of the greatshark, the Blitz and X Teams met. Derrik had invited the Blitz Team over for dinner. Brad leaned back on one of the sofas and remarked, "That was a good battle."

"Yeah!" exclaimed an excited Vega, "I haven't enjoyed a battle like that since I fought the Liger 0."

"You made me proud," said Sarah. Vega blushed at the complement.

"Thanks mom," she said.

"Mom?" half the heads in the room turned.

"Sarah officially became my mother after we left the Backdraft Group," said Vega quietly.

"Oh," said Bit.

They all broke into laughter. The two teams spent the rest of the night conversing and having fun. It was a night to be enjoyed by all.

But some enjoyed that night better than others. Halfway across the world, in the belly of a whale king, Garret rested after his latest unsanctioned battle. The new zoids of the Strike Team had performed excellently. Next to him, Chaos also rested. The zoid's eyes were closed.

They were in the hangar. Garret stared contemplatively up at his Gonosaurer. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Jeremy, the pilot of the Death Stinger approaching him.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked mockingly. His chest swelled with pride. Garret knew that ever since he had piloted the Death Stinger, Jeremy had gained something of a feeling of superiority over his fellow pilots.

"Indeed I am," Garret replied casually.

"You must know that you gave up the chance of a lifetime; piloting that tin can." His disdaining gaze fell upon the Genosaurer. "That hunk of junk would be no match for my Death Stinger."

"On the other hand," remarked Garret, his tone not changing, "The Death Stinger isn't exactly what it used to be. That zoid used to be capable of destroying entire cities with a single shot. Now, it's hard pressed to overcome the shield of an Ultrasaurus, something that would have given way like tissue paper to a Death Stinger at full power. More than that, this Death Stinger is much smaller than the one that was used in the past. This one is about equal to a Genosaurer or Dark Spiner in size."

"Still," replied Jeremy, anger finding its way into his voice, "It is still much more powerful than your pathetic Genosaurer."

Garret's glance fell upon Chaos. "Not forever."

"You think that just by using an Organoid you can exceed my power." Jeremy barked out a laugh. "Ha! You still aren't even close to being my match."

"You will see," said Garret serenely, "All in due time." He started to chuckle quietly. The chuckle grew into a long and loud bought of laughter that sent a chill down Jeremy's spine. Jeremy backed up to the door, then rushed out, leaving Garret alone in the hangar, still laughing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 10**

Disclaimer: I don't own zoids

Bit looked curiously at Jamie. "A Battle Royal?" Bit and the rest of the Blitz Team along with Dr. Toros were in the briefing room. The Zoid Battle Commission had sent them an invitation to fight in the Battle Royal.

"Yeah," replied Jamie. "A number of teams will be competing. There are teams from Class S, and even Class A and Class B."

"Any information about which teams are competing?" asked Brad.

"Yeah. The X Team will be there. The Shell, Sun, and Seeker Teams will be there as well. From Class A there will be the Fluegal, Lightening, Champ, and Tiger Teams."

"The Champ and Tiger Teams," said Leena, "You've got to be kidding me."

"This battle will be a piece of cake," remarked Bit.

"I don't think so," said Brad. "The Shell, Sun, and Seeker Teams aren't pushovers and the X Team is our greatest rival."

"Not to mention that the Fluegal and Lightening Teams haven't always ranked among our easiest battles," added Jamie.

"Well no big deal," said Bit, "We'll win anyway. How does a Battle Royal work?"

"The Battle Royal is one of the simplest battle modes around," said Brad. "The last one standing is the winner."

"Well, still no problem," said Bit.

"Will he ever learn?" sighed Jamie.

"Alright!" exclaimed Vega, "A Battle Royal. I've never been in one of those before!"

Derrik smiled at his young friend's eagerness. He himself had been in a number of Battle Royals and would probably be in many more before he retired from zoid battling.

"This'll be great," Vega continued, "This will be a good chance to test the Fury's abilities against different kinds of zoids."

"Now that you mention it," said Derrik, interrupting Vega, "I have something that you might find interesting."

They went into the staging area inside the greatshark. There, Vega saw something that really got him excited. "It's a conversion chamber."

"Yes," said Derrik. "The Berserk Fury's current armament is proof that the zoid is capable of utilizing a Conversion Armor System. Thus, I have designed and built the conversion chamber and three armors for the Berserk Fury. You will notice that they were directly inspired by the Liger 0 conversion armor systems.

"The three armors are, of course, the Jager, Shnider, and Panzer armor systems. Currently, the Jager armor is the only set that is operational. These armors are slightly different from the Liger 0 armors because the configuration for the Berserk Fury is obviously quite different. Of all four armors, only the original and Panzer armors have the ability to use the Fury's charged particle cannon."

"Why's that?" asked Vega.

"Both the Jager and Shnider armors rely too much on mobility. Neither armor can withstand the stresses of firing the charged particle cannon."

"I notice that the Liger 0 Jager armor uses the Strike Laser Claw, but the Fury's configuration makes that impossible. What is the Jager's primary weapon on the Fury?"

"The Jager's weapon is a double-barrel laser cannon, similar to the one mounted on a Lightening Saix. The Berserk Fury's sonic boom is nothing to laugh at either."

"Great," said Vega. "Thank you so much for doing this for me."

"It was a pleasure," replied Derrik.

The day of the battle arrived and the Blitz, X, Sun, Seeker, Shell, Champ, Tigers, Lightening, and Fluegal Teams arrived at the battlefield. The battlefield extended for a hundred miles from where the judge capsule was due to land. There was a tall mountain that Naomi noted would make the perfect sniping position. She and Leon setup at the top of the mountain.

Behind where the Gunsniper and Red Blade Liger had setup was a thick forest. Brad noticed that it would work nicely for the Shadowfox. At the base of the mountain was another forest, which would hopefully provide cover from the Gunsniper's fire.

Beyond the forest was a large, open space that would be perfect for the Lightening Saix. A fact that did not escape the notice of one Jack Sisco, or his team mates Chris and Kelly Tasker. The Tigers Team noted that the area would do well for them, so they setup out on the open space.

At the far edge of the battlefield, the X Team waited for the battle to start. The Berserk Fury was equipped with the Jager armor. "Lets hope this works," muttered Vega.

As for the Champ Team, Harry and his robots arrived and landed next to the Blitz Team. "Oh Leena," said Harry, "Here I am to prove my love to you."

"Oh boy," sighed Bit. "Let's take them out first."

"You said it," said Leena.

The judge landed. "The area within a hundred mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield. Only competitors and personnel have authorization. Danger! All others must leave at once. Area scanned. Battlefield setup. Battle mode 0975. Ready…Fight!"

All nine teams sprang into action. Leena and her Gunsniper immediately turned on the three adjacent Iron Kongs of the Champ Team. "Weasel Unit, Total Assault!" yelled Leena. The Gunsniper cut loose with every weapon it had, leveling all three Iron Kongs in less than ten seconds.

The Liger 0 Jager, charged for the Lightening Team zoids. Brad's Shadowfox made for the Tigers Team, Jamie and the Sun Team became engaged in a dogfight. Leena headed for the location of the Shell Team.

The Seeker Team's Konig Wolf was slowly making its way up the mountain, out of the line of sight of the Fluegal Team. The rest of the team was hidden in the forest at the mountain's base. After a few minutes, the Konig Wolf made it to the top, only to be confronted by Leon and his Red Blade Liger.

The Red Blade Liger lunged, forcing the Konig Wolf to jump over it. It turned around and fired its back-mounted rifle. The Red Blade Liger charged in, blades extended. Leon swerved his zoid expertly, dodging around the Konig Wolf's shots. Its blades cut the Konig Wolf in half.

Meanwhile, Naomi had spotted the rest of the Seeker Team in the forest. She fired, methodically taking out the Gunsniper, Dibison, and Saber Tiger. She shifted her aim, looking for a new target.

The Jager came up alongside the Lightening Team. All three Lightening Saix accelerated, as did the Jager. The Jager slammed into the side of Kelly's Saix, knocking it off balance momentarily. She recovered, but not quickly enough to prevent the Jager from leaping onto the Lightening Saix's back, a single slash of the Liger's claws took the cannon off the Saix's back and knocked it out of the battle.

Jack Sisco and Chris ground to a stop. Chris's Lightening Saix started to move forward, but a laser shot hit it in the midsection. The Lightening Saix fell to the ground, disabled. Before Jack could figure out what happened, a blue-white blur that was not the Jager rushed past it. The sonic boom knocked Jack's Lightening Saix off its feet. When it stood up again it was too late to dodge the Jager's Strike Laser Claw.

Bit looked over to see what the other zoid was and got the surprise of his life. It was the Berserk Fury, in full Jager armor. "Vega!" Bit exclaimed, "I didn't know the Fury had a conversion armor system."

"I just got it," replied Vega, "Do you like it, this is the Fury's Jager armor."

"Oh yeah, I like it all right," Bit muttered.

Meanwhile, the Shadowfox closed the distance between itself and the Tigers Team. The three Saber Tigers fired wildly with their heavy artillery cannons, but with little effect. The unpredictable and erratic movements of the Shadowfox made it impossible to figure out where the zoid's next position would be.

Brad waited until he was closer in, then opened up with the Shadowfox's Vulcan Laser Gun. The two Saber Tigers on either flank went down fast. The middle one managed to weather the storm, but not for long. The Shadowfox's claws were giving off a telltale glow. "Strike Laser Claw!" said Brad. The Shadowfox took one leg off the enemy Saber Tiger. Brad turned and headed for the cliff where Naomi and her team waited.

Leena was looking for the Shell Team, but she found that someone had gotten there before her. Namely the Elaphander and Raptorus. The Elaphander had been armed with its Assault Gattling Unit and its E.C.S. trunk unit. Its Missile Assault easily punched through the Gojulas's armor.

The Raptorus weaved in out of the Dibison's line of fire. The Iron Kong tried to track the elusive target, but was unaware that it was a target itself.

"Weasel Unit, Total Assault!" Leena yelled with glee. Her attack knocked the Iron Kong off its feet. The Elaphander turned to face the Gunsniper, but not before its flank was riddled by gattling gunfire. The Elaphander's own gattling unit pivoted around and fired at the Gunsniper while the rest of the zoid turned to bring its shield to bear.

Leena fired a burst of missiles but was too late. The Elaphander's shield intercepted the barrage. Leena got an idea. The Gunsniper's modifications had included four missile pods. However, there were two additional pods behind those four that fired missiles in a ballistic trajectory. She realized that the missiles would be able to go over the line of cover provided by the Elaphander's shield and strike the gattling unit mounted on top.

Leena fired her gattling guns to coax the Elaphander into activating its shield. She then fired the mortar rockets. The rockets went up and over the shield, completely catching the Elaphander by surprise. The missile attack worked better than she had hoped for. It completely disabled the Elaphander.

"Hey," she told herself, "I beat the Elaphander. Alright! Nothing can stop me now!"

"Oh," came a calm voice over the communication's channel. Derrik's face appeared on a video screen. "Would you like to bet money on that."

"Whoops," Leena chuckled nervously, "Forgot about you there for a moment Derrik." Derrik had obviously dealt with the Shell Team's Dibison.

Derrik's smile was kindly amused. "What a pity." He paused, then shouted, "Strike Sickle Claw!"

Leena knew the blow was coming and was determined to get off a few shots before she was taken out. She knew that because the attack was the Strike Sickle Claw, it would be coming from above to give the Raptorus a chance to strike with its wicked hind claws. She aimed upward and yelled, "Weasel Unit, Total Assault!"

The Gunsniper got a full barrage off, and one or two missiles detonated against the Raptorus's chassis, but it was too late to do her any good. The descending claw opened up her Gunsniper like a tin can. Leena was out of the battle.

The Raptorus turned and headed for the cliff where the Fluegal Team had setup shop. Always the observant one, Naomi did not miss the Raptorus's approach. She shifted the aim of her long-rifle and fired.

The Raptorus slipped to one side, the bullet passing by harmlessly. Naomi continued to fire but found it was near impossible to keep the Raptorus in her sights long enough to shoot it. "Leon?" she started to ask.

"Way ahead of you," said Leon calmly and positioned himself to take the Raptorus when it came up the cliff. Naomi shifted her aim to find a better target. She saw the Liger 0 and Berserk Fury, rushing side by side across the plane, perpendicular to her position. They were moving too fast for her to shoot. She shifted her aim to look for other targets.

Up above, the balance of power had shifted tremendously. Jamie in his Raynos found all four zoids of the Sun Team on his tail. The Rodan rushed past the four zoids that their pilots barely caught a glimpse of the Rodan moving at Mach 7. The sonic boom wiped them out utterly.

Jamie soon found it was now the Rodan that was on his tail. Sadly, the Rodan had caught him somewhat unprepared. Pierce smiled as she pulled the trigger. The Rodan's micro plasma cannon blew the Raynos's left wing off, sending it plummeting towards the ground. Pierce looked around for another opponent.

Naomi was scanning for another target when a blur rushed past the barrel of her gun. She began to shift her aim upward, but it was too late. The Shadowfox, having rushed straight up the cliff directly beneather her was already above her. Its Strike Laser Claw took the Gunsniper's arm off at the shoulder. "Well, I lost," said Naomi calmly. "Nice trick Brad," she said with a smile.

"Thanks," said Brad. He smiled back.

On top of the mountain, Leon charged down the slope to meet the Raptorus coming up. The Raptorus had nowhere to dodge. Fortunately however, because of the Red Blade Liger's own position, it received little more than a head butt. However, since it was coming up, and the Red Blade Liger was coming down, Leon had gravity on his side. Derrik soon found that he was flying, down. The Raptorus slammed against the wall a few times before a hard landing at the foot of the mountain. Leon was knocked off balance by the blow, but managed to slow his descent to a slide.

When Leon reached the bottom, the Raptorus was waiting for him. The Raptorus attacked with its Strike Sickle Claw. The Red Blade Liger leaned left slightly, causing the Raptorus's attack to miss. The Red Blade Liger then twisted so that its blade on the right side came slicing forward. The blade connected with the Raptorus right at the hip. But surprisingly, the Raptorus's armor held and it was merely pitched over the blade to land on its backside behind and to the right of the Red Blade Liger.

The Raptorus rolled and got its feet under it. Its fore claws started to glow with laser energy. The Raptorus raised both hands in time to catch the Red Blade Liger's laser blade with its claws. The Raptorus then kicked out with its hind claw, catching the Red Blade Liger behind the head in the neck. The Blade Liger rolled onto its side, defeated.

The Derrik hesitated, not sure where to go next. His hesitation cost him dearly. Up above him, on top of the mountain, the Shadowfox attacked with its Vulcan Laser Gun. Derrik had no idea what had hit him until his zoid was lying disabled on the ground.

Up above, Pierce saw her opportunity. She pushed the Rodan into a dive. She pulled up and rushed level with the ground on top of the mountain. The sonic boom, while powerful in the air, was a hundred times more effective against a ground bound opponent. The sonic boom picked the Shadowfox up off the ground and sent it flying over the edge of the cliff, where it went out far enough that it could hit the ground without being slowed by the cliff face.

Bit had his hands full with the Berserk Fury. The two zoids rushed side by side, ramming into one another, each trying to get an advantage. Bit decelerated slightly, allowing him to take up a position behind the Berserk Fury, where he hit it with his two cheek-mounted machine guns.

The Fury would have easily stood up to the assault except for one small problem. One of the Liger's shots went straight up its booster engine. The Berserk Fury began to loose speed. Bit saw his chance. "Strike Laser Claw!" he shouted. The Liger's attack disabled the Fury.

Vega looked at his status screen. "Aww, a command system freeze. Oh well, I'll get you next time Bit."

Bit never got a chance to respond. He was too busy noticing that the Rodan was swooping in at him. He fired the Jager's jet boosters and rushed back to the hover cargo. Once inside he said, "Doc, activate the system Panzer."

"Gotcha," said Dr. Toros.

The Jager armor was replaced with the Panzer armor. The Panzer was deployed and the hover cargo pulled away to leave it to deal with the Rodan. Bit looked around and saw the Rodan coming at him from his left, out of the line of fire for his hybrid cannons.

The Rodan passed overhead but surprisingly, the Panzer armor's weight, which had always been the bane of the Panzer unit, kept the Liger 0 firmly on the ground. "Alright, at least that weight is good for something.

Pierce looked back and saw that her sonic boom had had no effect on the Panzer. She decided to try a different approach. She came at the Liger from behind and in an attempt to send the Liger pitching forward into the ground. Bit saw her coming and began to charge the Panzer's Hybrid Cannons.

As the Rodan passed overhead, the Panzer's weight once again kept it firmly rooted in place. Bit fired the Hybrid Cannons. Two blasts of energy rushed past on either side of the Rodan, missing by bear centimeters. But the shockwave of the sent the Rodan flipping head over heals. The Rodan crashed into the ground so hard that it was almost completely ripped apart.

"The battle is over. The battle is over. The winner is…the Blitz Team." The judge capsule closed then launched to dock with its satellite in orbit.

"Alright!" exclaimed Bit, "We won again."

"Great job Bit!" yelled Toros giddily, "We're unstoppable!"

Stroma watched the conclusion of the battle on a video screen. He smiled as he thought about the Battle Royal. He pressed the intercom and said, "Garret, get your team to the briefing room. I have selected your next opponents." It would be so wonderful, he thought, to see the Blitz and X teams fall.


	11. Chapter 11

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 11**

Disclaimer: I don't own zoids

Stroma watched as the Blitz Team won yet another battle. This had been the sixth battle since the Battle Royal. The Blitz Team was on a winning streak. Not even the X Team had been able to face the Blitz Team.

Soon, however, the Blitz Team's string of successes would reach its end. Stroma knew that the time had come for the Backdraft Group to administer defeat to the Blitz Team. With the Blitz Team, the X Team would also fall.

Bit stepped out of the shower, refreshed. After winning once again, the Blitz Team appeared to be unstoppable. Brad was already in the lounge, relaxing on one of the couches as he usually did. Jamie was in the computer room, running through their finances.

"We're gonna be rich before we move up to the next class," said Bit.

"No kidding. Not only have we been able to take our zoids in for repairs and tune ups every couple days, but we also have the money we need for any modifications we want," said Brad.

"Leena should like that," quipped Bit. "Man, I'm hungry," he added.

"Oh, that reminds me, the Doc said he was gonna take us out to dinner."

"Dinner? Well it'll be nice not to have to cook for a night at least."

The Blitz Team entered the restaurant and looked around. "Wow," said Leena, "This place is really nice."

"And really expensive," added Jamie. "I'm not so sure we should eat up our finances with this sort of thing."

"Take it easy Jamie," said Bit, "Eat up is the first thing we're gonna do here."

"Yeah you said it," said Leena, "Let's chow down."

Bit and the others were enjoying their dinner when Bit spotted someone familiar. He looked closer and realized who it was. "You!"

Garret looked up from his own light meal. His smile was cruelly amused. "So, I never thought that the next time we'd meet would be at dinner." A mischievous look sprang onto his face.

"You're with the Backdraft," accused Leena.

"Indeed I am," conceded Garret.

"I have the suspicion that this is no accident," said Brad.

Garret met Brad's gaze, "You're right, but it is nothing special, merely a foreshadowing of events to come." His gaze dropped to somewhere behind them. "If you don't watch your backs, you will never see the blow coming from behind."

As one the Blitz Team wheeled around, looking for some indication of a threat behind them. Garret added, "Of course, if you are always looking over your shoulder, the blow will come from in front." When Bit and the others looked back, the found that Garret was gone.

"Where'd he go?" asked Jamie.

"I'd rather not know," said Bit.

When the Blitz Team arrived at the Toros base, they found information from the Zoid Battle Commission waiting for them. It was an announcement for their next battle. Jamie read the information. "It's the X Team again," he stated simply.

"Well, it's always nice to fight them," said Bit. "When is it?"

"Tomorrow."

"Well," yawned Bit, "I'm going to get some sleep."

"Me too," said Leena.

"Count me in," said Brad.

"The battle paperwork can wait until tomorrow morning," said Jamie as they all went to bed.

In a room in the headquarters of his more legitimate identity, Stroma looked at the public schedule for the next day's scheduled battle. "Well, the Blitz Team versus the X Team; perfect." He tapped the intercom, "Garret, tell your teammates to get some sleep. We deploy tomorrow."

Derrik looked at the information screen. He had taken an unusual interest in the doings of the Backdraft Group since Bit had talked about his meeting with Garret and the Organoid called Chaos in the mountains.

"Garret," he muttered, "So, the years have not changed you at all."

"That's one of the Backdraft pilots," said Vega coming up behind him, looking at the information that Derrik had on screen.

"Yes," replied Derrik. "Also, he is like me."

"Like you?" inquired Vega.

"Yes, he has been around for at least as long as I, if not even longer."

"Wow," was all that Vega could say.

"Go get some rest Vega. We have a big day tomorrow."

The day of the battle arrived and the Blitz and X Teams met on the battlefield. Both teams faced one another across the distance of the battlefield. Bit was using the Shnider armor while Vega was using the standard Berserk Fury armor. The ground shook as the judge capsule landed.

"Derrik," said Zanders over the communications channel, "There's a whale king approaching. I'm picking up microwave emissions. Should I fire?"

"No," said Derrik. He gave no explanation.

Meanwhile, the members of the Blitz Team were not aware of the approaching whale king. Not aware, that was until a beam of microwave energy stabbed down from the whale king and hit the judge capsule. The capsule opened, and they all heard a familiar voice.

"Hahahahaha! Sorry kiddies, but this battle has been taken over by the Backdraft Group. Area Scanned. Battlefield setup. The Blitz and X Teams versus the Strike Team." At this moment, from the underside of the whale king there deployed the Dark Spiner, a Death Stinger, and a familiar looking Genosaurer. "Ready…Fight!"

Bit looked on astonished. "They actually think that they can take on eight zoids with just those three."

"Don't be so sure Bit," said Dr. Toros, "The Gonosaurer we already know. But the one with the Spine is a Dark Spiner. If anything its even more powerful than the Gonosaurer. The other one is a Death Stinger. It's one of the most deadly zoids that ever existed."

"The energy signals that I'm picking up from the Death Stinger's zoid core are a lot weaker than they should be," said Zanders.

"The Death Stinger that we know of, namely the one that was used by the antagonists immediately following the Helic-Guylos wars, was created by fusing the zoid cores of a Deathsaurer and a Genosaurer. This one was created by a single zoid core and is therefore much weaker," said Derrik.

"That's good to know," said Leena, eagerly stroking the trigger.

"It's still the most powerful of the three."

"Not for long," said an ice-cold voice over the communications channel.

"Garret," said Derrik, "So it is you."

"Derrik," replied Derrik's nemesis, "So good to see you after these long centuries. What have you been doing to keep yourself occupied?"

"I've had enough talk with you," said Derrik taking his friends aback by the tone of pure rage in his voice. "Your sick mind and your lust for destruction must end before you get out of control."

"I'd like to see you try," Garret taunted.

"I will be more than happy to," growled Derrik.

"But first, Chaos! It's time!" The Brown Organoid, which had been standing on the ground next to the Genosaurer, launched into the air and fused with the Genosaurer. The Genosaurer's eyes glowed red briefly, and then it lunged towards the Raptorus with a roar.

Derrik rapped out instructions. "Vega, you take care of the Spiner. Stoler, you cover Vega. Pierce, Jamie, you two get the Death Stinger. Leena, you help them. Brad, you help Stoler and Vega. Bit, you're going to help me with the Genosaurer."

The pilots acknowledge and set out to attack the enemy zoids. The Genosaurer was closing with the Raptorus. The Rodan and Raynos swooped down on the Death Stinger from above. The Gunsniper moved in at the Death Stinger's rear. The Schnider charged at the Genosaurer's flank. The Berserk Fury charged the Dark Spiner head on. The Elaphander used its assault gattling unit to start pounding the Dark Spiner from afar. The Shadowfox closed in on the Spiner's right flank.

The Genosaurer fired at the Raptorus. The Raptorus easily dodged the barrage and closed in, its claws glowing with laser energy. Garret was about to press his attack when he became aware of the threat to his right.

"Buster Slash!" cried Bit. The Genosaurer used its hover jets to accelerate out of the Liger's way. However, the Raptorus took advantage of the Garret's distraction and leapt onto the Genosaurer's back. It managed a few swipes with its claws before the Genosaurer managed to buck it off.

Then the Liger charged in, its side blades extended. The Genosaurer jumped out of the way of the blades but was knocked off balance when the Raptorus latched onto its side, this time using its much larger hind claws to tear at the Genosaurer's flank.

Garret twisted the Genosaurer's head around and the Genosaurer closed its jaws around the Raptorus's neck. The Genosaurer pulled the Raptorus off its flank and flung the offending zoid away. The Genosaurer stumbled out of the way of yet another charge from the Liger. However, it was not fast enough this time and received a scratch for its sloth.

The Raptorus came charging in. This time it took one swipe with its fore claws and retreated, just in time to avoid a retaliatory slap from the Genosaurer's tail. Inside the cockpit of the Liger 0, Bit smiled; they were winning.

The Berserk Fury came charging in at the Dark Spiner, its blade array's slashing. The Dark Spiner proved surprisingly agile however, and was able to dodge the attack. Vega feinted, as if to press his attack, and ducked. The Elaphander's missile attack came whistling over the Fury's head and slammed into the Dark Spiner. But the Spiner was nothing, if not durable, and shrugged off the missile attack with ease. The guns mounted on its shoulders returned fire.

"Strike Laser Claw!" shouted Brad. The Dark Spiner dropped onto its belly, and the Shadowfox soared overhead, missing its intended target.

Just as the Dark Spiner stood up again, Vega activated the hover jets, sending the Berserk Fury rushing forward, catching the Dark Spiner in the chin with a resounding head butt. The Dark Spiner stumbled backwards then pivoted around its right leg, sending its tail crashing into the Berserk Fury's head, causing it to stumble to one side.

The Elaphander's gattling gun opened up, riddling the Dark Spiner with gunfire. The Dark Spiner fired its shoulder guns again, but the Elaphander activated the shield, which easily withstood the attack.

"Oh, I see," said Daniel, "An energy shield. We'll see how well it stands up to my charged particle cannon." Daniel engaged the Dark Spiner's foot lock. The Dark Spiner's spine shifted its position until it was oriented vertically, with the individual spines positioned horizontal to the Spiner's head. The spines began to spin, and then glow. Energy collected around the barrel that had extended from the Dark Spiner's mouth.

"Help!" called Stoler. The Dark Spiner fired and the Elaphander was lost in a flash of white light.

The Death Stinger almost toppled over as the Rodan's sonic boom hit it. The Raynos came in, firing its lasers at the slow moving zoid. However, the Death Stinger was more durable than even the Dark Spiner, and withstood that assault. Both airborne zoids were moving to fast for Jeremy to target. The annoying Gunsniper was another question entirely.

The Stinger's guns fired constantly at the Gunsniper. Fortunately Leena found cover behind a large rock. However, she could no longer be of any help to her friends.

Jeremy growled under his breath. The Death Stinger shook as a blast from the Rodan's micro plasma cannon struck it in the back. The Stinger began to move towards the rock behind which the Gunsniper was cowering.

The Death Stinger climbed up and over the rock, taking Leena by surprise. She managed a strangled scream of terror before the Death Stinger's claw clamped around the Gunsniper, lifting it from the ground.

"Now I've got you," taunted Jeremy. His good mood was short lived when a shot from the Raynos hit the Death Singer in the joint where the claw joined with the arm. The Death Stinger dropped the Gunsniper.

"Enough of this!" exlaimed Jeremy. The Death Stinger's tail opened to deploy the charged particle cannon, which pointed skywards at the Raynos. The tail was surprisingly quick and had little trouble locking onto the Raynos. Jamie tried to dodge and managed to actually avoid being hit by the powerful charged particle beam. But the shockwave made up for all the damage he had managed to avoid. The Raynos was sent tumbling head on into the ground.

"Jamie!" cried Leena. Without hesitation, she opened up on the Death Stinger with every single weapon the Gunsniper had. Despite her best efforts, the Death Stinger withstood the barrage like a ship weathering a fierce storm. Even the powerful sonic booms of the Rodan did little harm to the powerful zoid.

"Once more!" said Jeremy gleefully. The Death Stinger fired its charged particle cannon at the Rodan a second time. Once again, the beam itself missed but the shockwave sent the zoid tumbling to the ground like a broken balsa glider.

"And now," said Jeremy, focusing his attentions on the lone Gunsniper, "You're mine for the destroying." He leveled the Death Stinger's charged particle cannon at the Gunsniper. The charge began to build. He took his time, knowing that his target knew full well the futility of any actions she could take.

Leena watched her adversary taking his time building up for the blast. She knew it would come. She also knew that she would not have the good fortune to be taken out by a near miss. The beam would hit her full on. Leena knew that to take a direct hit from that cannon was to die. She closed her eyes and waited for the end.

Partway across the battlefield, the battle between Garret and Bit and Derrik was still at full swing. The Garret knew that it was unlikely that he would have the chance to use his charged particle cannon against either the Liger 0 or the Raptorus.

The entire hull of the Genosaurer was a mosaic of cuts, most of them dealt by the speed of the Raptorus and the skill of Derrik. Some were the results of lucky hits made by the Liger 0.

The Genosaurer staggered as the Raptorus slammed into its side with both feet, those deadly switchblade claws ripping more lines into the dark-blue armor of the Genosaurer. The Garret turned to retaliate, but found that the Raptorus had darted away. Sensing rather than seeing it, he sidestepped a charge from the Schnider, and reprimanded it with a slap from the Genosaurer's tail.

Derrik was about to attack the Genosaurer again, when the Raptorus, of its own accord, wheeled around and started sprinting in a different direction entirely. "What are you doing Raptorus!?" yelled Derrik. The Raptorus's image magnifier showed him a terrible image. The Gunsniper stood, unmoving, in front of the Death Stinger, which was slowly powering up its charged particle cannon.

"I had hoped that it would never come to this," said Derrik under his breath. "Hey, Bit," he called.

"Yeah?" replied Bit.

"I've gotta go back Leena up, try and hold down the fort," said Derrik.

"Leena?" Bit asked redundantly. "Hold on, I'll come with you." The Liger started to run in the direction the Raptorus had taken when it lurched and fell forward; its back foot caught on something. Bit looked back and realized the error of his attention lapse too late.

The Liger's back foot was caught at the ankle by the Genosaurer's cable claw. Servomotors in the Genosaurer's arm whined as the monster zoid slowly wound in the slack, pulling the Liger closer. "Now there is no escape for you," said Garret coldly.

Having understood the severity of the situation Leena was in, Derrik urged the Raptorus to run its fastest. All the while, he was running a check of the most unusual, and dangerous, weapons system ever to be possessed by any kind of zoid.

The Raptorus closed the distance between itself and the deadly confrontation taking place. Derrik knew that this was going to be close. Leaning forward into his seat, he urged the Raptorus to still greater speeds. Understanding its pilot's urgency, the Raptorus ran even faster.

Leena knew it was all over. She saw the Death Stinger fire at her, she knew she was about to die. Then, the bright light of the approaching charged particle beam was blotted out. Looking out of the cockpit, she spotted the lithe shadow of the Raptorus interposing itself between her and the unstoppable beam.

"Here goes nothing," said Derrik.

"Derrik!" a scream tore its way out of Leena's throat.

The Raptorus took the full brunt of the charged particle beam. Leena looked on, expecting to see the zoid consumed by the white light that engulfed it. Instead, the shadow cast by the Raptorus grew. The Raptorus was still there, standing as if it were unaffected by the charged particle cannon.

The Death Stinger eventually ended its attack. Jeremy was sure that he had destroyed his target. Of course, he had been in no position to see the Raptorus intercede, so he thought he had hit his intended target. He was surprised to see that not only had he not hit his intended target, but also the zoid he had hit was still standing, without a scratch no less. He managed to stutter, "What the…?" before the zoid he had inadvertently hit turned to regard him.

Leena looked on in amazement. Seconds ago she had been sure that she was a dead woman. Now, she looked at Derrik's creation with renewed respect. The Raptorus was the most unusual zoid she had ever had the privilege to fight. Now, it was displaying a new surprise. She wondered what the Raptorus was going to do next.

The Elaphander vanished in a flash of white light. Daniel looked on with satisfaction. The Dark Spiner was unstoppable. When he was done with the Elaphander, his next target would be the Shadowfox. Then he would finish his fight with the Berserk Fury.

The smoke from the blast was clearing. Daniel expected to see very little left of the Elaphander. What he expected and what he saw were two very different things. He was amazed when he saw the telltale glow of an energy shield through the smoke. "There is no way the Elaphander could have an energy shield that could withstand my blast!" he cried.

Then he realized that the shield was not a shield that could be projected by the Elaphander. When the smoke cleared completely, he saw the Berserk Fury standing inside a dome created by its energy shield. He also saw the Elaphander, intact and undamaged, standing behind it.

"You waste your time defending those weaker than you Vega," Daniel taunted.

"I'm not one to abandon my friends," replied Vega. The Berserk Fury deactivated its shield.

"Well, since the capabilities of our zoids are beyond those of the Elaphander and the Shadowfox, why don't we end this just between the two of us, zoid to zoid," the Dark Spiner began to gear up for another charged particle cannon blast, "Charged particle cannon to charged particle cannon."

The Berserk Fury straightened as it prepared its own weapon. Vents opened along the tail. The head came forward and a barrel extended from the mouth. The Fury's blade arrays took positions on either side of the body. Both blade arrays began to glow a hot white. The energy began to gather around the Fury's barrel.

"You can't defeat the Dark Spiner!" screamed Daniel.

Vega did not respond. Both zoids fired their charged particle cannons. The two blasts met halfway between the two of them. To Daniel's surprise, the Berserk Fury's blast began to force the Dark Spiner's attack backwards. He realized that he had been foolish to challenge the power of an Ultimate X. He increased the intake of the spines to give his beam more power, but it still couldn't match the Berserk Fury.

The Berserk Fury's beam got closer. Suddenly, Vega yelled, "Now Brad!"

"Strike Laser Claw!" The Shadowfox slashed at the base of the Dark Spiner's spine, cutting the thing off. Without the spines to supply the charged particle cannon with power, the Dark Spiner's beam disappeared completely.

Vega angled the Berserk Fury's beam upwards just in time to avoid sending the charged particle beam smashing through the Dark Spiner's cockpit. Instead, it stabbed through the Dark Spiner's haunches, crippling the zoid.

"Noooooooooooooooo!" screamed Daniel; "I can't have lost!"

"But you just did," said Brad smugly.

"Brad!" shouted Dr. Toros over the communications channel, "Bit's in trouble, go back him up."

"Sure thing Doc," said Brad.

The Liger's claws dug furrows in the ground as the Genosaurer pulled it ever closer. "Do you know what I'm going to do to you?" asked Garret coldly. Knowing that Garret was going to tell him anyway, Bit didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer.

"The Genosaurer masses the highest of any known zoid," Garret continued without missing a beat. "When my Genosaurer's foot comes down on top of your Liger 0, the armor will crumple like a tin can." He started to laugh. It was a strange, feral laugh that sent shivers down Bit's spine.

The thought of what Garret was about to do to his Liger made Bit and the Liger 0 struggle even harder. However, no matter what they did or how hard they struggled, the Genosaurer slowly pulled them closer. Bit knew they were fighting a losing battle. Then the idea came to him.

He suddenly turned the Liger 0 completely around and charged the Genosaurer, with the claw still attached to the Liger's leg. Bit fired the Schnider's boosters to gain even more speed. The result was more slack than the Genosaurer could reel in.

"Buster Slash!" The Schnider's Buster Slash penetrated the Genosaurer's chest. The Schnider swung its head, ripping through the Genosaurer's chest and severing the cable that connected the Genosaurer's claw to its arm.

Bit thought he had just won the battle. He was totally surprised when the Genosaurer swung its tail into the Liger's flank hard enough to send the Liger flying. The Liger crashed into the ground. It tried to get on its feet, but the side smashed by the Genosaurer buckled and the Liger 0 collapsed.

As Bit turned his attention from the status screen to his opponent, he saw the Genosaurer coming closer, getting ready for a charged particle cannon attack. "We're in trouble Liger," said Bit. The Liger 0 growled in agreement.

Zanders looked at the sensors to see if the data coming in was correct. No matter how many tests he ran he still arrived at the same conclusions. There was an anomaly in the Genosaurer's zoid core.

Curled up around the curve of the zoid core, Chaos was growing tense with excitement. The excitement did not come from its perceived victory over the Liger 0, but something else; something it knew its master had been waiting for. The fact that the master was engaged in the business at hand, Chaos knew that what was about to happen took precedence over anything else. The master had said so. Chaos knew that it would have to end the master's business prematurely. However, it was not apprehensive about that fact. The news it had would take any scolding the master had right off his lips.

The Genosaurer shuddered to a stop. Inside the cockpit, Garret looked down at the controls that had suddenly betrayed him. What had happened to his Genosaurer? Then he knew what the cause of the problem was. "Chaos?" he asked tentatively.

The Genosaurer wheeled around and activated its hover jets, speeding away from the Liger 0. "Chaos what are you doing!?" screamed Garret in a rage. His opponent had eluded his grasp, and this time through the actions of Garret's own Organoid.

Bit watched the Genosaurer's departure with plane confusion. "What was all that about partner?" he asked. The Liger 0 gave no reply, for it knew no answer.

Both Derrik and Jeremy bore witness to the Genosaurer's departure. "You coward!" screamed Jeremy. "Come back here!"

"You have to deal with me first," said Derrik.

The Raptorus's sickle claws plunged into the ground to hold it in place. The entire chest and underbelly of the zoid began to lower downward. What Jeremy saw was not encouraging. It was a series of three cylinders, each one wrapped around a smaller one. The smallest one was capped by a lens of some sort. The whole apparatus extended like a telescope. However, the device's purpose was most likely not so benign, thought Jeremy. At the rear end of the device some tubes ran back and up into the inside of the Raptorus.

Jeremy's suspicions were proved correct when the Raptorus began to glow. He saw the glow start coming down the tubes and feeding into the back of the weapon. The outside of the apparatus began to glow a fiery orange. The lens began to glow yellow. The body of the Raptorus moved so that it was angled upward, giving the weapon a clean line of fire to the Death Stinger.

"Plasma Cannon…Fire!" roared Derrik at the top of his lungs. The weapon fired. The beam was bright gold edged with orange. The blast passed just over the Death Stinger, but low enough to hit its tail. The Death Stinger's tail was gone in an instant. The heat began to eat away at the zoid's upper hull.

Far worse was the shockwave. The ground just seemed to sink, forming a massive furrow that followed the beam's path. When the furrow reached the Death Stinger, the zoid was literally blown to pieces by the power of the blast. The individual pieces flew in different directions. Luckily for Jeremy, the cockpit was flung to one side where it hit the ground hard. Jeremy hit his head and was knocked unconscious.

The beam continued onward until it hit a mountain that sat miles away. The entire mountain vanished in a dome of outwards expanding energy. All that was left was a crater; the ground, smoothed by tremendous heat and pressure, had the consistency of glass. Fortunately, being near a zoid battlefield, the mountain was completely uninhabited. There hadn't even been any form of wildlife on the mountain.

Leena felt her jaw drop at the unbelievable power of the Raptorus's weapon. The weapon had been powerful enough to wipe out a Death Stinger. She had no idea where the Raptorus could carry a generator powerful enough to utilize a weapon of such immense power. Much less impressive, was the fact that the Raptorus had shrugged off a direct hit from a charged particle cannon without so much as a scorch mark to show for it.

"You're just full of surprises aren't you," said Stoler, coming up in the Elaphander.

Derrik said nothing. He had felt it necessary to add such a device, but he despised using such an utterly destructive weapon. His hands were shaking. If anyone ever found out about that weapon and its power source, the human colonists would quickly go the way of the ancient Zoidians who passed millennia ago. He never wanted to use it again, but some instinct told him that this would certainly not be the last time he ever called on its power.

"What!?" cried the judge, "This isn't possible! Ohhh. The battle is over. The winners are…The Blitz and X Teams. Hmph."

"What was that," asked Bit. He had never seen such a powerful weapon, it made the Berserk Fury's charged particle cannon look like a flashlight.

"That was a plasma cannon," stated Derrik simply.

"Where do you keep the generator for that thing?" asked Leena.

"The Raptorus has no generator for such a weapon," replied Derrik. "Instead, upon my activation, the Raptorus is surrounded in a superconductor field. The superconductor field absorbs incoming energy, alters it, and feeds the energy into the plasma cannon. The plasma cannon magnifies the energy and fires. In a sense, I am turning my opponent's attack against him."

"Well," said Brad, who had just arrived, "We won, but what happened to the Genosaurer to just make it run off like that?"

"I have a feeling that this has something to do with Chaos," said Derrik.

Much farther away, the Genosaurer continued to jet across the desert. Garret no longer complained when he realized that nothing he could say or do would sway the Organoid from its purpose, whatever it may be. His confusion was clear, but Chaos was not in the habit of explaining itself.

Finally, the Genosaurer pulled into a sheltered canyon. Garret saw blue-white light as the Organoid detached itself from the zoid core. The light gathered in the cockpit. When it vanished, Garret saw that he was no longer in the cockpit, but outside on the ground looking up at the Genosaurer with Chaos at his side.

Garret said nothing, knowing that Chaos would still not give an explanation. Then, the Organoid fused with the Genosaurer again. Garret could not believe his eyes when he saw red lines growing up out of the ground. They were met by an identical set of lines coming down from the air over the Genosaurer's head. Soon, the Genosaurer was encased in a shell of energy that resembled a giant ruby.

"So," said Garret to himself, "It has begun." He began to laugh. His feral laughter grew louder and louder. He had finally realized the Organoid's intent. His insane glee at the horrors he would perpetrate was immeasurable. He stood there, admiring the handiwork of his brainchild, still laughing.


	12. Chapter 12

**Zoids: A New Beginning**

**Chapter 12**

Disclaimer: Okay, we all know the drill by now.

Stroma watched the conclusion of the Strike Team's battle with the Blitz and X Teams. He was impressed by their success. However, his frustration mounted when the Genosaurer and Garret unexpectedly took their leave of the battle.

Stroma sighed. The Genosaurer had been a valuable asset. Pilots like Garret who knew how to bring out the Genosaurer's full potential and didn't treat it like it was a charged particle cannon with legs were rare. In addition, Garret had also taken a valuable Organoid with him. Stroma didn't pretend to understand the workings of Garret's mind better than anyone else.

The door behind him hissed open and two zoid pilots walked in. Both pilots were members of the strike team. The first was Daniel, pilot of the Dark Spiner. The second was Jeremy, pilot of the Death Stinger. Both pilots were downcast, for they had both lost more than the battle.

Daniel's Dark Spiner had been hit by a charged particle beam from the Berserk Fury. The result was that the entire rear section of the zoid was badly damaged, possibly irreparably. Jeremy had even more reason to be downcast. His Death Stinger was hit by a plasma cannon blast fired by Derrik Fay's Raptorus. The beam had melted the Stinger's chassis and the shockwave had scattered the Death Stinger's components into the wind.

Stroma was not too disappointed, he could replace both zoids; not easily but he could replace them none the less. Stroma was still much more concerned with the desertion of Garret.

"Don't worry my young friends," Stroma said reassuringly, "We shall replace your totaled zoids."

"I just want to get my hands around that traitor's neck," growled Jeremy with barely contained fury, "Just running off in the middle of a battle like that."

Daniel, as always, kept his opinions to himself. That was one thing about Daniel that Stroma admired. Outside his zoid cockpit, Daniel was known for keeping a level head.

"Don't worry," said Stroma, containing a growl that had been rising up in his throat, "We shall deal with Garret soon enough."

Far away from where Stroma and his two pilots were conversing, in a sheltered canyon, Garret sat on a flat rock. There was nowhere for him to go. Even if there was, he was not of a mind to leave Chaos and his zoid out alone in that deserted canyon.

His stomach growled. Garret looked down at his meager supply of food. How long would it be until the Organoid finished its work? Would he have enough food? A single thought worked its way through Garret's substantial doubts. The thought was about the product of the Genosaurer's evolution. Garret smiled, it would be worth the wait.

In the time since the unsanctioned battle, the Blitz and X Teams were meeting inside the greatshark. Derrik had offered his transport's repair facilities to the members of the Blitz Team to repair the Liger 0 and the Raynos.

Bit looked around at the comfortable room they were seated in. "Nice place," he remarked absentmindedly.

"Size isn't everything," a jealous Dr. Toros muttered under his breath. He did not doubt that the greatshark was a superior transport and wished that he had the financial resources to build such a magnificent transport.

After a wait, Derrik walked in. "It is time to get to the subject at hand," he said decisively.

"What's the problem?" asked Leena, who saw nothing of concern in the results of the last battle.

"Winning the battle is not always the important part of such events," said Derrik.

"Are we talking about what happened with the Genosaurer?" asked Vega.

"Partly, but that is not the entire point of this conversation," replied Derrik. He paused then went on. "One point of this worry's me. You have undoubtedly noticed the Backdraft Group's new method of taking over battles. From what I have seen, they use a microwave transmitter to overwrite a judge's programming with that of a dark judge."

"I don't see the big deal," said Brad.

"The big deal is that if they can take over a judge," said Stoler, "What would stop them from taking over a judge satellite?"

"Using a microwave antenna to take over a judge satellite!" exclaimed Jamie, "That's impossible. Why, for that to happen the transmitter alone would have to a radius of about…" he paused, doing some quick mental calculations, "one hundred yards."

"Larger actually," said Derrik, "an approximate diameter of one mile."

"Right," said Jaime, "It would be too easily spotted. The Zoid Battle Commission would find it well before construction was completed."

"Not if they had forces sufficiently powerful enough to protect it," suggested Pierce.

"No force the Backdraft Group could muster would be powerful enough to stop the Battle Commission," argued Brad. "With the turrets on the judge super satellites, they could just destroy the whole thing from orbit.

"On the other hand," said Bit, "They could use the threat of such a dish to lure a judge super satellite into range, thus forcing the Battle Commission to bring in zoids to fight."

"It doesn't matter," Brad persisted, "The Zoid Battle Commission would still win, hands down."

"Unless," suggested Derrik, "Unless they have a sufficiently powerful zoid to protect their interests."

Brad snickered at the remark, "There is no such zoid," he stated.

"Oh no?" inquired Derrik, "Vega pilots such a zoid. The Berserk Fury alone could keep the forces of the Zoid Battle Commission, the Helic Republic, and the Guylos Empire combined at bay."

"But the Berserk Fury's one of a kind," said Vega, "It is the only zoid with that kind of power."

"Do not be so sure Vega," said Derrik, "I remember another kind of zoid with that power. I remember from a long time ago."

"Even if such a zoid exists," scoffed Leena, "It's not like the Backdraft Group has it."

Derrik said nothing in response. He knew that the Backdraft already had the key to possessing such a powerful zoid. He only wished the others had enough experience to see the coming storm.

Garret sat his back against the hard, rough stone of the canyon wall. When his mind took a break from imagining the horrors he would perpetrate, he let his thoughts wander into the past.

Garret remembered his days with old Backdraft Group. He remembered reporting only to the Count and the Committee of Seven. He remembered listening to Altiel's futile arguments towards finding the Ultimate X. He remembered his conversation with the Count after that fateful meeting.

Garret had turned off the video screen on which he was watching Altiel's conference with the Committee of Seven. The door behind him hissed open and the Count stepped into the room.

"Well Garret," said the Count, "What is your opinion of that interesting little conversation we just had with Altiel."

"I am impressed by the man's grasp of the zoids. His knowledge is substantial," replied Garret.

"Surely you do not believe this pathetic Ultimate X nonsense," scoffed the Count.

"I would not scoff at such things if I were you Count," answered Garret. "Altiel knows what he's talking about. He will find his Ultimate X. That I know."

To his surprise, the Count actually believed him. "So, when Altiel finds this Ultimate X, should I reward him for his efforts?"

"I believe you should."

"Perhaps you would like to pilot this Ultimate X," suggested the Count.

"No, an Ultimate X chooses its pilot, not the other way around. If I were to suggest a pilot for this Ultimate X, I would suggest Vega."

"Vega Obscura." The Count considered the suggestion. "He is our finest pilot, second only to you. You believe he would be the one to pilot the Ultimate X."

"Indeed."

"So, it appears that Altiel will be in charge of this operation then."

"Altiel is to volatile to be a commander. Despite his correct belief in the fact that the Liger 0 is an Ultimate X, he has committed too many resources to its acquisition. I think we should give command of the operation to Sarah."

Count nodded, "I will place Altiel in charge of the wagers for this event," he said, "He always was good at that sort of thing."

Count went to the wall and pressed his hand against it. He took out a bottle of fine wine, and filled to glasses. "Now, let us drink to the success of the Ultimate X and to the glory of the Backdraft Group."

Garrets mind slowly came back to the present. Nothing had changed. The Genosaurer was still contained in the energy field the resembled a gigantic ruby. He smiled, "Soon, not even an Ultimate X will be able to stop me."

In one of the Backdraft Group's many underground facilities, Stroma rode an elevator down to the bottom floor of a massive hangar. Inside the hangar machinery and personnel were hard at work.

He looked up and saw several massive components being lifted into place. He looked upward and saw a gigantic arm that alone would have dwarfed a Gojulas. He smiled at the progress his men were making. He would soon have the means to do much more than take control of the Zoid Battle Commission.

Stroma smiled, even with Garret's desertion, the pieces of the plan were falling into place. He would soon control the most powerful administration on Planet Zi. The Zoid Battle Commission wielded more power than the President of the Helic Republic and the Emperor of the Guylos Empire combined

He walked into the next room and watched the continuing construction of a massive dome-like device. The device would be crucial in the overthrow of the Zoid Battle Commission. He chuckled, the Zoid Battle Commission's greatest asset was about to become their greatest enemy.

Bit was taking the Liger 0 for a run. Bit always felt much better when he took his beloved zoid for a run. Running the Liger 0 helped him to stay in sync with his zoid and make sure that the bond between them was strong. In addition, when he was out running, Bit had the time and solitude to do some thinking.

Bit loved the solitude of his runs with the Liger 0. Out in the open plains, away from the Toros base, away from Leena and her perpetual squabbles with him over something or other, away from the Doc and his constant pestering of them for money to buy some component or other, away from the always critical and conservative Jamie, away from Brad, who always seemed to be watching Bit through half closed lids, he could think freely.

Bit's mind kept on going back to that conversation on the greatshark and the ominous tone of those discussions. Derrik had deduced that a major event was coming. Bit knew better than to dispute that fact.

Bit stopped the Liger 0 on top of a ridge overlooking a vast plain. The nearest city was far enough away that its lights didn't blot out the stars. Bit came here nightly to look up into the night sky and think about things.

Looking up, he instinctively located a star he knew well. It was a star that every child on Planet Zi had been taught about in their earliest days of school. Around that star orbited the blue planet, Earth, the home of the human race. Bit, who had been born on planet Zi, like everyone else in his generation, had absolutely nothing about Earth beyond its location.

Bit wondered what it would be like to go to Earth someday. What were the people on Earth like? Did they have zoids too? Other questions went through Bit's mind. It was easy to relax and forget ones problems when one looked at the stars. Looking at the night sky, Bit felt a sense of peace and calm.

Bit heard the unmistakable sound of a zoid approaching. He turned his head around and saw Leena's Gunsniper approaching. "Now what?" he muttered, "I haven't stolen any of her food…yet," he added.

The Gunsniper pulled to a stop next to the Liger 0. The cockpit opened and Leena got out. She came over and sat next to Bit. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I keep thinking about what Derrik said," said Leena, "About there being a zoid powerful enough to stop the Zoid Battle Commission. I keep wondering, what makes him so sure it exists?"

"Why are you asking me? I don't know any more than you do." He turned and looked at Leena.

"I think he was talking about the Genosaurer running off," replied Leena.

Bit could only shrug helplessly. "Don't worry, I doubt that there's any zoid that could be a match for us."

"I hope you're right Bit," said Leena.

Bit continued to stare at her. This wasn't like Leena at all. He had never seen her this calm and in control. Normally, she would have decked him for disagreeing with her. He looked up at the Gunsniper, parked next to the Liger 0. Maybe runs were better than he thought. Bit shrugged again and lay back to watch the stars some more. Leena remained sitting upright, though her face was turned up towards the sky as well.

After an hour, Leena stood up and headed back to her Gunsniper and went home, leaving Bit alone, still staring up at the sky.

In the tactics room, Jamie got an unexpected call from Zanders. "What is it?" asked Jamie.

"Derrik told me I should share the data I got from the battle with you," answered Zanders. "There is some interesting information."

A graph came up next to the image of Zanders on the screen. "This is a record of the readings of the Genosaurer's zoid core. The graph was a simple line graph. Jamie watched as the reading scrolled by. Suddenly a spike passed on the graph, then another. As the graph continued to scroll by, the spikes became more frequent.

Zanders continued, "The spike represents an anomaly signal from the zoid core of the Genosaurer. As the battle progressed, the spikes became more frequent. By about the time the Genosaurer had almost defeated the Liger 0, the spikes had become constant."

"What does it mean?" asked Jamie.

"Derrik believes the anomaly to have a connection with the Organoid bonded with the Genosaurer."

Zanders stepped away from the screen and Derrik stepped in front of the screen to talk to Jamie. "That signal means that the Organoid has completely analyzed the Genosaurer. When the Genosaurer left, I realized that the Organoid must have found a way to increase its power."

"And that means?" said Jamie.

"The Genosaurer is evolving, the product of this evolution could very possibly be the destruction of Planet Zi."

Garret looked up at the energy field that surrounded his Genosaurer. It was fading. He smiled, it had taken three days and nights, but finally, the process was complete. He looked up and admired the marvelous new zoid.

Light flashed and Chaos was standing next to him. "It's time to go back and finish what we started Chaos," said Garret. He looked at his new zoid. The time was near indeed.


End file.
